


Playing House

by TheScarletAvenger



Series: Coulson and Lewis: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D [1]
Category: Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Age Difference, Awesome Darcy Lewis, BAMF Clint Barton, BAMF Phil Coulson, Clint Barton & Darcy Lewis Friendship, Couch Sex, Dating, Don't Touch Lola, Drama, F/M, First Time, Flirting, Fluff, Humor, Mystery, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Non-Canon Relationship, Protective Phil Coulson, Romance, SHIELD Agent Darcy Lewis, SHIELD Agents Being Badass, Sex, Sexual Tension, Sexy Times, Small Towns, Undercover Missions, Undercover as Married
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-21
Updated: 2013-10-07
Packaged: 2017-12-15 17:28:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 73,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/852125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheScarletAvenger/pseuds/TheScarletAvenger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>S.H.I.E.L.D agents Coulson and Lewis are sent to a small town on a special undercover assignment to investigate a supernatural phenomenon. For the next two months they will have to pretend to be husband and wife, while they try and figure out what’s going on.  Will they develop real feelings for each other?</p><p>Bonus smut scene (chapter 19)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Married?

"So how did he propose?" Clint Barton said as he walked into the S.H.I.E.L.D cafeteria. He smirked at the young brunette woman, who sat at the metal table with a rather larger file and a can of Red Bull in front of her. "And why wasn't I invited to the wedding?"

"You heard?" Darcy Lewis said as she looked up from the file. She shook her head and reached for her drink. "Nothing gets past Clint Barton, does it?"

"Of course I heard," he said as he took a seat across from Darcy. "This is big news! You and Phil Coulson ... Married!"

Darcy rolled her eyes. "For the next two months. I don't know why I got picked for this case. I'm only a level 2 junior agent and-"

"And the fact that he's, like,  _twice_  your age. Phil must like 'em young. That dirty bastard." Clint joked. Darcy rolled her eyes again, and then flipped through the pages of the file.

"This is my new life right here," she said. "I'm supposed to read through this and remember everything. I'm Darcy Renee Coulson. Age 27 ... Do I look 27 to you? Oh, and I'm a freakin' kindergarten teacher. I cannot stand kids! Seriously, who writes this crap?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D has a whole team of people who come up with these fake bios for undercover missions," Clint said. He reached over and stole Darcy's Red Bull and took a drink.

"Hey!" Darcy made a face at Clint. "Wait ... Making up fake lives for agents is an actual S.H.I.E.L.D job?  _Holy shit!_  How do I get that job? That's my dream!"

"You write?"

"Have you not read my Kirk/Spock fan-fiction?" Darcy asked. "Yes, I write. It's what I did to pass time when I wasn't running around getting coffee for senior agents. I need to get that job somehow. And I can tell you I certainly would come up with a better fake life that kindergarten teacher, Darcy Coulson."

Clint laughed. "Aww, kindergarten teacher Darcy sounds sweet. What's Coulson's cover?" He asked, stealing another drink of Red Bull.

"Just take it, dude." Darcy said as she watched Clint chug her drink down. She flipped to the front of the file and started to read. "Phillip James Coulson, is a 43-year-old man, who is an author.  _The fuck!_ Why does he get to be a writer? He's working on a book about a small town; and he thought the only way to really get the feel of small town living was move into one."

Clint nodded. "I get it. So you guys are renting a house for the summer, where he can get inspired to write his book about small town adventures; while you two are actually covertly investigating that supernatural phenomenon that's going on in the there."

"For someone who isn't working this case, you seem to know an awful lot about it," Darcy said as she arched her eyebrow.

"Well, I was almost picked for the mission." Clint replied as he finished off the Red Bull.

"What? To play house with Coulson?" Darcy gave him a sly smile and raised her eyebrows a couple of times.

Clint laughed. "Hell yeah! Couple of gay men move into a small town; one is a writer, the other a chef ..."

"Wait, are you the chef or the writer?" Darcy teased. "See? This is what I'm talking about! S.H.I.E.L.D needs to spice their stories up a bit. People don't want to see teacher Darcy and writer Phil. They want to see writer Phil and his really hot boyfriend, Chef Clint!"

Clint shook his head and grinned. "That would be one for the ages. Actually, instead of Coulson, it was going to be me and you on the case."

"Shit, that would have been awesome. And made more sense!" Darcy said, putting her hands up in exasperation. "Why didn't it happen?"

He shrugged. "After careful consideration, they decided that you and me wouldn't finish the case in a timely fashion. We'd probably have way too much fun," he winked. It was probably true. Even though Clint was a super badass agent; Darcy brought out the goofy side of him.

"So now I'm stuck with Agent No Fun," Darcy scrunched her nose up and stuck her tongue out. "Thanks a lot, Barton."

"Hey! Not my fault," Clint laughed. Besides, Natasha, Darcy was one of Clint's best friends at S.H.I.E.L.D. When she was recruited, they had hit it off right away. Clint spent a lot of time (more than he should have) at her desk in the administrations department. The two of them spent most of the time trading iPod playlists or poking fun of stuffy agents. Darcy was one super cool chick; not to mention she was also had the makings for a badass agent. "I much rather do that than being sent off to Hong Kong for a recon mission." He stood up and tossed the empty can in the trash bin.

"When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow," he replied. There was a beeping noise in his ear and put his hand up to his communicator. "Speaking of which, Fury, wants me in the conference room for mission prep. Gotta go, Darcy. Congratulations on your marriage, and don't forget to  _christen_  every room in your new house!"

"You're  _such_  an ass," she said, giving him a smirk. He turned and started to walk away and she went back to reading her file.

"Oh, Darcy! Kirk/Spock fan-fiction. I want it! Send it to my phone so I have something to read on the plane," Clint said as he raised his phone in the air and shook it.

Darcy laughed and nodded. "You got it." She chuckled to herself when he left and then, with a deep sigh, went back to reading about Mrs. Darcy Renee Coulson.

* * *

Agent Phil Coulson sat in his office, carefully reading over the details for the undercover mission that he was assigned to. His desk was piled with neat little stacks of papers, Post-it notes, books, and charts. Most of them had markings with different colored pens, noting critical things he had to remember. Without looking up from his reading, he reached for his coffee mug and took a sip. He cringed and forced the coffee that had grown completely cold down his throat. For a moment, he debated whether he should take a walk down to the cafeteria to get another cup or muddle on through the file, learning there was all to know about Phillip James Coulson, a struggling author from Seattle. It was a part he would be playing for possibly the next two months; while secretly investigating a supernatural occurrence for S.H.I.E.L.D. He wouldn't be alone on this mission though, Junior Agent Darcy Lewis would be accompanying him; playing the part of his wife. Phil almost had to laugh at that. Darcy Lewis was young enough to be his daughter. Sure, the S.H.I.E.L.D biographies had bumped her age up from 23 to 27 and his age down from 45 to 43, but it was still a sixteen year difference. Of all the covert missions Phil had been on, this one was probably going to be the most interesting.

Not to mention, difficult.

There was a slight knock on his office door and Phil looked up from his file. "Come in."

The door creaked open and Agent Sitwell poked his head in. "Burning the midnight oil? It's after nine." He walked in carrying two cups of coffee and set one down in front of Phil.

"Thanks," he said picking up the coffee and taking a sip. Hot coffee was good coffee, and he was going to need a ton of it tonight. Phil set the cup down and motioned to his file. "I have a lot of studying to get through before Friday."

"Friday, moving day then?" Sitwell smirked and took a seat on the leather chair across from Phil.

"Yeah." Phil nodded.

"So Junior Agent Lewis is working this case with you? This is her first undercover mission, how do you feel about that? Especially with the nature of the case ..." Sitwell stirred his coffee while trying not to smirk.

"Lewis is a fine agent, I have no doubt that she'll be able to pull off this mission-" He stopped when Sitwell started to laugh out loud.

"Sorry. Sorry." Sitwell tried to stop himself from laughing and spilling his coffee all over the place. "We are talking about the same Lewis, right?"

Phil sighed. He was trying trick himself into believing that Darcy Lewis would be able to pull off this mission. He had assumed that a senior female agent would have been assigned to work the case with him. Not a junior agent who spent most of the time listening to her iPod. "I'm sure she'll do fine," he said picked up a pen and made a couple of quick notes down on a piece of paper.

"She was a desk jockey and a coffee gopher last year. Spent most of her time fooling around with Barton. Good luck with that one." Sitwell shook his head. "If you make it though this one without being compromised Fury will probably give you a big shiny metal. I will say, at least she's ... nice to look at. A little young to be your wife though."

"I rather be assigned to this mission with a pretty agent than going to that crap hole that you're assigned to for the next three months," Coulson said with just the tiniest smile.

"Ooohh. That hurt. Cuts me right to the core." Sitwell smirked, tapping his chest. He started to walk out, stopping just short of the door, turning to Phil. "Good luck." He said it and meant it. With one last nod he headed out, shutting the door behind him.

Phil drummed his fingers quickly with one hand, while he flipped to the next page in the S.H.I.E.L.D created bio for him. In his head he was already creating a character for this version of himself he would be playing. He just hoped that Darcy was going to take this as seriously as he did. Not just their cover story, but also the main reason that they were going to this town. Strange things were happening in there, and it was up to them to uncover what was going on.

* * *

It was 11:40, and Darcy was now just packing up her work to go home. This had been the longest time she had ever stayed late at the headquarters on her own choosing. She yawned and stretched her arms over her head and then shoved the rest of her paperwork and files into her Hello Kitty messenger bag. She wasn't really supposed to use that particular bag. She was warned numerous times that only black or brown bags or cases were standard regulation. Darcy didn't really care though. S.H.I.E.L.D was all dark clothes and shady agents all the time. Having a Hello Kitty bag brought a little cheer to the place. She flipped off the light to the meeting room, and headed down the hallway.

"Agent Lewis?"

Darcy knew that voice. Agent Phil Coulson had a very distinct, pleasant voice, that was both calming and apathetic depending on the time of day. She stopped and turned around, giving him a small smile. "You worked late too?"

He picked up his stride to catch up with her. "I'm here late quite often, though I must say I'm a bit surprised that you're still here on your own accord." His eyes flicked down at the Hello Kitty bag. "I thought you were told you couldn't carry that anymore?"

"Aww what's wrong with _teh kitteh?"_ She smirked. Yeah, being 'married' to him for two months was just going to be a  _fucking_  blast. "Well, I stayed late so I could get some reading done on Mrs. Darcy Coulson. I don't know how the hell I'm supposed to remember every single little detail about her. I mean, what are the chances someone is going to ask me about her ...  _my_  high school job? A nanny? Why can't I just tell them what my real job was in high school? A waitress. Why does every detail need to be fake?"

"Our fakes lives need to coincide with each other. I need to know just as much about you as you do me, in case we're are asked. We don't want to be caught in a lie and have our mission compromised. Just stick to the bio written for you Agent Lewis. You'll be fine," Coulson said as he looked into the retina scanner to open the main door.

"Don't you think this story has been done enough? A writer moves into a small town to work on his novel. I can at least think of two Stephen King books where this is the same premise. If you go all  _Jack Torrance_  on me, I'll flip." Darcy said as she looked into the retina scanner. She really hated those things.

"All work and no play makes Phil a dull boy," he smirked. Darcy snapped up and looked at him with her eyes wide.

"Oh my god! Don't even-" Darcy exclaimed.

Phil shook his head. "I don't think 'The Shining' and our mission will be anything alike, Agent Lewis."

"You never know ... We are investigating some weird-ass supernatural thingy," she said with a shrug.

Phil opened the door and held it for Darcy to go through first. "You did read about the  _thingy,_  correct?" he asked with an arched eyebrow. He walked out the door, and then tugged on it to make sure it was securely latched.

"Yeah, yeah, I read it. Some weird occurrence is happening up in the mountains. Lights and strange noises have been heard coming from the forest. There has been several disappearances in the last three years. And of course, the townsfolk are all hush, hush about it. Sounds like an episode of the X-Files." Darcy looked up into the crystal night sky and then back to Coulson. She shivered slightly; it was really cold out here.

"I'll be your Fox Mulder and you can be my Dana Scully." He really wasn't missing a beat on these pop culture references. Who knew Agent Coulson would know about anything else besides super sneaky agent stuff? "It's cold out here," he said as he watched her trying to keep warm.

"Fuck yeah, it is," Darcy said, as she shivered through her thin white button up shirt. She glanced down at her chest to make sure her she didn't have any nipple action showing. Didn't need Coulson to see that. All good;  _the girls_  were behaving themselves tonight.

"Do you want me to walk you to your car?" Phil asked, as they both began to walk into the parking lot.

"Nah, that's alright. I got my loyal friend. Nobody effs with Darcy Lewis! I don't play around," she said, patting the side pocket of her black pants. Darcy didn't go anywhere without her taser. "Besides, we're on S.H.I.E.L.D grounds. I doubt there are any thugs milling around here."

Phil nodded. "Okay." He knew there wouldn't be anyone out here to attack Agent Lewis on her way to her car. S.H.I.E.L.D had a whole set of security measures to keep riffraff off the grounds. Lewis could certainly take care of herself; she was a master of the taser. He only offered because it was the gentlemanly thing to do. "Have a good evening, Agent Lewis," he said with a microscopic smile.

"You too," Darcy said as she hugged her arms around herself and headed towards her car. She hurried along as quickly as she could. Her warm cozy bed was waiting for her, and she could not wait to jump into it and fall asleep. In a few short hours she'd be back at the office, doing the work thing again. Then on Friday she'd start her first undercover assignment. It made Darcy's stomach flutter; and not in a good way.

Phil watched Darcy until she reached her car and got safely inside. She could hold her own, but he felt a bit protective over her and he wasn't sure why. Perhaps, it was because she was a S.H.I.E.L.D newbie or that she was just a young woman. Whatever it was; he felt that it was his duty to watch over her. He sighed deeply, as he opened the door to his car, and got inside. He was dead tired, and in less than seven hours he'd be back here. He should have just slept on the couch in his office, as he did so many times before.

It's not like there was anyone to go home to.


	2. Just Us and the Open Road

Darcy walked into the S.H.I.E.L.D the next morning with a cup of Starbucks and a big yawn.  Last night when she got home, she stayed up for a couple more hours reading up on the mission.  She wanted her first big undercover assignment to go without a  hitch, and more importantly, she wanted to prove to Coulson that she was a valuable agent to organization.  Darcy knew a lot of people within S.H.I.E.L.D talked about her, and not in a good way.  This was her chance to show them all that she really belonged here.  “Morning,” she said with a nod to the agent next to her workstation.

 The agent simply nodded and then went back to his computer.  Darcy sighed and sat down.  She took a sip of her latte and flipped open her file.  She already knew pretty much everything there was to know about Darcy Coulson, the trick would be remembering it all.  She tapped her pen on her desk as she read through the actual case that they were investigating.  Something weird was happening in that town and it was up to her and Coulson to figure out what it was.  Weird lights; strange noises; missing people - Definitely aliens ... or monsters ...  maybe a hoax? There were lots of possibilities.  Darcy rubbed her hands vigorously over her shoulders; not because she was cold but because she was extremely nervous.  She just hoped that she’d be able to keep her cover and not blow the entire mission.  It was going to be hard.  Also pretending to be married was not going to be easy either.  Especially not to Agent Coulson.  He was so by the book and never cracked a smile, except for maybe a smirk once in a while.  Clint swore that Coulson wasn’t so straitlaced.  He would know because Coulson used to be his handler and they spent a lot of time out in the field together.  However, Darcy had a hard time believing that Coulson could be humorous.  

 “Darcy?”  Clint said as he peeked over her cubicle.

 “Clint!  I thought you were leaving today?”  Darcy said as she snapped out of her thoughts and smiled up at her friend.

 “Leaving in an hour.  Just wanted to wish you luck on your mission,” he said.  He walked  over and sat down in a vacant chair next to her desk.  He smiled at her, noticing how tired and weary she was.  She looked nervous as hell.  “Darcy, you’re going to do fine.” he tried to reassure her.

 “I feel like I could vomit,” she said putting her head down on her desk.  “I really wish it was you and me on this mission.”

 “No, you don’t.”  He laughed running his hand through her hair.  “Trust me, you couldn’t be with a better agent on your first mission.  Coulson’s a badass mofo.  If you guys get into some sort of trouble, he’ll be able to pull you out.  But I can almost guarantee a hundred percent that it’ll be smooth sailing with him leading.  Just stick to your cover story and you’ll do great.”  

 “Easier said that done.  Pretending to be married is going to be really difficult, especially to him,” Darcy smirked.  Butterflies were fluttering around in her stomach again.  “Oh my god.  Do you think I’m going to have to like-”

 “Fuck him?  Doubt it.” 

 Darcy snorted.  “No, I should hope not.  What about kissing and hand holding all that lovey-dovey stuff?”  The thought of having to act all that out with Agent Coulson sent her brain reeling with fear.  Darcy sucked at real relationships, how the hell was she supposed to succeed at a pretend one?

 Clint picked up Darcy’s latte and took a sip.  “Oh, well, I doubt it.  Maybe hand holding, I mean you two are supposed to be married, so you’ll have to act like it when you’re in the public eye.  Unless in your cover bio it says that you’re not that type of couple.  What did it say?”

 Darcy shook her head.  “Deeply in love.”

 “Oh, yeah, you’ll have to fuck him.”  Clint smirked at Darcy as she shot him a glare. “Just joking.  If any of those situations do come up just pretend you’re an actor.  Which essentially is what you’re doing.  It’s just acting, Darcy.  And, I doubt Coulson will be cramming his tongue in your mouth-”

 Darcy made a gagging noise at that mental image.  “Eww.  Seriously, Clint, you really need to think of how you word your sentences.”  He chuckled and stole another sip of her latte.  “And you need to get your own coffee!”  She added with smirk and balled her fist up pretending to threaten him.

 Clint put his hands up in front of his face to ‘block’ her punch, and laughed.  He glanced over at the time displayed on her computer.  “Shit.  It’s show time,” he said.  He stood up and leaned down to kiss the top of Darcy’s head.  A lot of people thought they were in a relationship but they were just really good friends.  In fact, they had never even talked about dating each other.  They talked about sleeping together and fooling around all the time, but it was always in a joking sense.  Clint and Darcy were undoubtably in love with each other, but not in a romantic way.  “I’ll try to text you if I get any downtime.”

 Darcy wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a squeeze.  “You better.  And you better stay safe,” she said looking up at him.  She had no idea what the nature of his mission was, other than it was a recon mission to Hong Kong.  She just hoped that it wasn’t too dangerous, not that Clint couldn’t handle a dangerous mission.  She just wanted him ... _needed_ him back in one piece.

 “I will, doll,” he smiled.  “Now, I better get going before Fury has a conniption.  Later, Darce,” he said with one last wave.  

 Darcy watched him walk out until he disappeared through the doors, then she turned back to her file.  She picked up her drink, it felt empty.  “Damn it, Clint.”  She said pulling off the lid and looked down into the empty cup.  She chuckled to herself and shook her head.  She wasn’t mad at him but she was certainly going to get back at him as soon as she saw him again.

 The rest of the day was quiet. Darcy managed to get a lot of work done as well as getting a report typed up for Agent Sitwell.  When five ‘o’ clock rolled around she packed up her stuff and headed out the door.  She was surprised that she didn’t bump into Agent Coulson all day. He had been paged over the PA system three times during the course of the day, so she knew that he was there.  She just thought he would have stopped by to see how her mission prep was going.  Maybe he was just really busy doing agent stuff.  She yawned and headed out to the parking lot.  Tonight she’d have to get some good rest; tomorrow was going to be a big day.

 

* * *

 

It took Darcy a long time to fall asleep that night.  Her mind was on overdrive thinking of the mission, Agent Coulson, Clint, reports that were piled up on her desk waiting for her when she got back ...  There was just so much ...  When she did finally fall asleep she woke up late.  

 Of course that would happen.

 Darcy was supposed to meet Coulson at the S.H.I.E.L.D garage at 0800 hours sharp because they had to be on the road by nine.  She looked at her watch as she sped into the S.H.I.E.LD garage.  _Fuck_.  It was already close to 8:30.  Coulson was going to kill her; she just knew it.  And there he was, leaning up against a red classic Corvette with arms crossed and a scowl on his face.  Oh yeah, he was pissed.

 “Shit,” Darcy muttered to herself as she got out of her car and grabbed her duffle bag out of the back seat.  She locked the door and handed her keys to agent who attended the garage.  Quickly, she hurried over to Coulson.  “I’m so-”

 “You’re late, Agent Lewis,” he said taking his black sunglasses off and hanging them off the pocket of his shirt.  He glanced back at the moving van behind him.  Two agents dressed in moving men uniforms sat in the front seat with frowns on their faces.  “You’re holding us up,” he said turning back to look at Darcy.

 Darcy looked at the van and gave the guys an apologetic smile.  They didn’t return it.  “So, I take it that’s all _our_ furniture and stuff?”  Darcy said looking at van.  She wondered what kind of stuff S.H.I.E.L.D picked out for them to furnish their house with.  She hoped it was nice stuff and not crappy beat up stuff.  Like pretty much all the stuff in her apartment.

 “Yep,” he said as he turned and grabbed a packet off the top of the Corvette.  “These are all your documents - driver’s license, birth certificate, teaching license, passport, etc ...”  He handed it to her and she opened it up.

 “Oh no ...” she said disapprovingly.  “These look totally fake.  Nobody’s picture looks this good on a driver’s license.  Certainly not mine.  I’m the most unphotogentic person in the world.”  She held up the license for Coulson to see.

 “I doubt that,” he said coolly as he reached into his pocket.  “You’ll need this also ...” he said as he pulled out three small objects holding them in the palm of his hand.

  _Rings._

 “Oh ...”  Darcy said as she looked down at his hand.  Coulson picked up the plain gold band and put it on his finger and then picked up the diamond engagement ring and the wedding band.  He grabbed Darcy’s hand and slipped both of the rings on.  Wow.  The engagement ring was gorgeous.  Darcy couldn’t stop staring at it - White gold with a modest sized princess cut diamond in the center surrounded with little aquamarine stones.  When the sunlight hit it just right; it made little light rays all over the hood of the car.  “It’s beautiful...”  

 “Glad you approve, Agent Lewis.  Now we have to get on the road.  It’s a six and half hour drive, and we’re already falling behind.”  Coulson said hurriedly as he opened the door to the Corvette and got inside.

 “Wait ...  We’re taking this?”  Darcy asked, looking at the flashy car and smirked.  “S.H.I.E.L.D’s giving us this?  Man, I didn’t even know they _had_ cars like this!  1962 C1 Corvette, Signet Red...  Gorgeous...” she said as she got in the car and shut the door gently.

 Coulson’s lip twitched.  “Actually, this is my personal car.”  He put his sunglasses on made signal with his finger to have the moving van to start to head out.

 Darcy’s mouth dropped a little bit.  “No fucking way...” she muttered under her breath.  This was Coulson’s car?  His actual car?  Like, he actually owned this?  In real life?  She tried to wrap her brain around it - she couldn’t.  She always imagined him to drive a black car with tinted windows.  A total stuffy agent car, not a fucking hot Corvette.

 Okay maybe his was a little more interesting that she first thought.  She tried to suppress a smile as he pulled out of the garage and headed out onto the open road.

 

* * *

 

 They drove in complete silence for the first three and half hours - three and a half very uncomfortable hours.  Darcy didn’t dare ask to turn on the radio, though she could really use with the distraction of the radio right now.  If this was a S.H.I.E.L.D car, she would have turned it on without a second thought.  This was his car though, and it was in pristine condition; it felt wrong even sitting in it.  She glanced at Coulson out of the corner of her eye.  He was leaning back comfortably with one hand on the wheel, the other draped over the outside door.  This was also the first time she realized that he was in regular clothes and not a suit.  Jeans and a white polo shirt; black shades over his eyes.  He looked ... _nice_.  Relaxed and comfortable.  Darcy had worn a short floral sundress with black flip-flops; she had been informed to dress down this morning, so when they rolled into town that they’d look like a couple and not like government agents.  She guessed they kinda looked like a couple.

 She grabbed her purse off the floor and began to look through it for her hand lotion.  She had her iPod in there, and debated whether or not it would be rude to put her earbuds in.  Yeah, probably would be rude.  She was about to pick up her hand lotion when an envelope tucked inside one of the pockets caught her eye.  She pulled it out and opened it up.  

  _‘Congrats on your marriage!’_ \- The card read.  It had a little wedding cartoon couple on it hugging.  Darcy rolled her eyes.

 Clint.

 She opened it up and something slid out and fell into her purse.  

  _‘Just in case *wink* *wink* - Love Clint.’_ The inside read.

 In case of what?  Darcy reached inside her purse and pulled out a square foil wrapper.  

  _Holy shit!_

 A condom.  

 “What’s that?”  Coulson finally spoke after almost four hours of silence.

 Darcy quickly dropped the condom back into her purse.  “Nothing!” she said in a rushed breath.  She was going to _fucking_ kill Clint the next time she saw him.  She dropped the card into her purse and looked at Coulson.  “So are we almost there yet?”  She changed the subject, hoping he wouldn’t ask about it again.

 “About two hours away,” he said without taking his eyes off the road.  “You hungry?”  

 Darcy had been starving and really had to pee about two hours into their journey, but had been to scared to say anything.  She had been late this morning and didn’t want to piss Coulson off anymore than she already had.  “Starving,” she said as they pulled into a burger joint.

 Coulson turned off the engine and looked over at Darcy.  “We’re officially on assignment now, Agent Lewis.  As soon as we step out of this car, we’re husband and wife.  You’ll need to call me Phil,” he took off his sunglasses and looked at her.  His eyes felt like they were burning holes through her.  “In fact, call me Phil until we’re off assignment.  I don’t want you getting confused and slipping up by calling me Agent Coulson in front of civilians.”

 That was kinda harsh.  But yeah, she might have actually done that.

 “Okay,” she said opening the car door up.  The two undercover agents in the moving van pulled up beside them and jumped out.  She watched as Coulson gave them just the slightest nod, and they headed inside to grab something to eat.  Coulson gave her the _‘don’t fuck this up’_ look, and got out of the car.  Darcy exhaled deeply and told herself over and over, she could do this.  And they were just going inside to grab a burger, how was she going to feel once they got into town and had to start interacting with people on a daily basis?

 Coulson held the door open for her and she walked inside the restaurant.  “Thanks, Phil,” she squeaked out.  Man, it was really weird calling him by his first name.  

 “Of course, sweetheart,” he said giving her a warm smile.  _A fucking real smile._ He really could do it.  He had really prefect pearly white teeth also.

 “Oh my god, stop staring at his teeth. Who stares at teeth?  Psychos and dentists, that’s who.”  She thought to herself, giving him a little smile back.

  They were really nice teeth though.

 “Welcome to Burgers and Stuff, can I take your order?”  The young man asked.

 “I’ll have the classic number two combo with a Dr. Pepper,” Coulson said and then looked over at Darcy.  “What would you like, babe?”

  _Babe?_

 Darcy forgot how to speak, let alone think for a moment.  Why was he turning on the mush factor so much?  Was he trying to make her feel uncomfortable?...  Oh? Oh!  Yes that’s what exactly he was trying to do.  Suddenly confidence grew inside her and she smiled.  “I think I’ll have the chicken tenders with fries and a Sprite,” she said to the young man.  She looked back at Coulson.  “Thanks, honey-bear,” she smiled sweetly and batted her eyelashes a couple of times. 

 Coulson’s lip twitched and he nodded.  “You’re welcome.”

 They sat outside on one of the tables and ate their food, while Agents 1 and 2 sat in the moving van.  Darcy and Coulson didn’t speak much, but once in a while Coulson would look over at his ‘wife’ and give her a smile.  When they were finished, they hopped back in the car and headed out on to the road again.

 “Sweetheart?  Babe?  You totally threw me off guard there, Coul- Phil,” she said, looking over at him.  “You were amazing though, really slipped into character right away.”

 Coulson looked over at Darcy.  “This isn’t my first rodeo, Darcy.  I’ve been on a lot of undercover missions over the years I’ve been at S.H.I.E.L.D.”  He turned his car down a dusty road. 

 “Oh yeah, of course you have ...  Have you ever been on a mission playing a husband though?” she asked curiously.

 “No, this is a new one for me,” he said with a nod.  He sighed a little bit and looked over at her.  “Look, I know this is an odd mission, Darcy.  I will try not to make you feel uncomfortable, but we will have to play the part.  Otherwise, the whole mission could be compromised.”  He warned her again, just like he had the other night. They went silent again for about another half an hour. “Welcome to Shady Oaks,” he said breaking the silence as they passed a large wooden sign.

 Darcy’s heart jumped into her throat.  This was it.  This were they’d be living for the next two months.  She read the sign as they drove past it: Shady Oaks; population 458.  Fuck, that was a small town.  Darcy couldn’t recall the last time they passed a gas station or a major supermarket chain.  It seemed like years ago.  They were really out in the middle of _fucking_ nowhere.

 There didn’t seem to be much of anything; just a ton open fields, large wooded areas, and few houses here and there. No shopping malls or stores, or even restaurants.  Darcy had never been anywhere that didn’t have a McDonalds on every other street corner.  Coulson turned down another dusty road and passed a huge rundown farm with a dilapidated red barn.  The farmer that was working in the field stopped what he was doing and stared at them, like, he had never seen an outsider moving into town before.  “Okay, the this town is totally giving off the creep vibe, and we’ve only been in it for twenty-seconds,” Darcy said as she looked in the side mirror.  She was so thankful that there were two heavily trained undercover agents in the moving van behind them.  Also, she was thankful that Coulson was next to her, she really hoped that he was as badass as Clint said he was. “Honey, we’re home...” she said quietly as the they approached a small two-story white house with the paint peeling off of the siding.  Coulson stopped the car in the driveway and the moving van pulled up behind them.

 God, if this was the outside of the house; she couldn’t wait to see the inside.


	3. Meet the Coulsons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you're enjoying the story! Please feel free to leave comments! thanks! :)

"Seriously? This is the house we're going to live in? It's a total ghost house," Darcy said looking at the little two-story white house. It was really shabby looking, paint peeling, a shutter just barely hanging on to a window, the screen door was practically falling off, the list when on and on. She looked over at Coulson. "If the house doesn't kill us from caving in, we'll die at the hand of the ghost that haunts the place."

Phil's lip curled up in a tiny smile. "...It's not that bad."

Darcy laughed. "Uh-huh, you just keep telling yourself that, Phil." It was still weird calling him by his first name. Darcy glanced in the rearview mirror as she watched the doors of the moving van open up and undercover agents 1 and 2 hopped out and walked up to Phil's side of the car.

"Mr. Coulson, should we start unloading the van?" Mover-Agent Two asked.

Time to jump into character. It seemed weird considering no civilians were around. Darcy grabbed her purse off the floor and opened up the car door. It really was a hot car, she thought as she ran her hand over the door. Did Phil buy it brand new right off the lot? No way, he couldn't be that old. Darcy tried to do that math in her head and came to the conclusion that there was no way that Phil was over fifty. She glanced at him again. Well ... shit, maybe he was. He looked over at her and then down to her hand which was still stroking his car. She suddenly felt really dirty and immediately stopped what she was doing. Okay, so he really liked his car. Maybe he had a car kink? Oh god, where was Barton when you needed him?

Phil looked back at mover-agent and nodded. "Yes, thank you, let's start unloading. I'll go open the door," he said as he got out of the car and looked over at Darcy again. "Shall we go peek inside our new home? Let the ghosts know we're moving in?" His lips curled up into a smile.

Darcy rolled her eyes. "Might as well, but you're going to be disappointed when you find out there is no plumbing or high-speed internet connections." She followed Coulson up the rickety steps onto the front porch.

"I think no internet would be the least of our worries," he said as he stuck the key in the keyhole. He had to jiggle it and turn it a few times before the door knob turned. He smirked at Darcy as he slowly pushed the creaking door open. "Want me to carry you over the threshold?"

"You do and you're a dead man," Darcy whispered, giving him a smirk. She pushed the door open the rest of the way and took a step inside. Okay, so it wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be. The living room was small but had big windows that let the sunlight fill the room. "Kinda...cozy."

"Aww, I knew you'd love it, baby," Phil grinned as he stepped inside, looking around at the house he'd be living in with Agent Lewis for possibly the next two months.

Baby? She wanted to hit him, but she had to remind herself that they were playing a part. Darcy wandered into the kitchen, and she smiled. "So adorable-"

"...thanks..." Phil said from behind her.

Darcy shook her head, looking at him. "The kitchen." He looked a little disappointed. Darcy grinned and turned back to check out the kitchen. White tile floors; oak cabinets; white countertops with a little flower pattern dotting some of the tiles; big picture window above the sink. What Darcy loved the most were pink the old-timey appliances that looked like they were from the 1950's. "Oh my god, I hope these work!" she said, walking over to the stove and opening the door to take a peek inside. She smiled and turned to look at Phil. "We have fucking pink retro appliances!"

Phil couldn't help but smirk over Darcy's enthusiasm. "I guess you're warming up to the house?" he asked walking over to the cupboard and opening it up. A spider dropped out onto the counter, and he flicked it into the sink. The cupboards could use a good scrub to get all the dust and cobwebs out. Phil hated dirt and grim; he liked everything to be neat and orderly. Somehow he doubted that Darcy cared one way or the other. He saw that as a potential future living together problem. "The house needs a top to bottom cleaning, but so far it's kinda homey."

"Eh, a little dirt never killed anyone," Darcy said with a shrug, as she opened the broom cupboard. She knew Phil was a complete neat freak; his office looked like a museum, she could only imagine what his apartment looked like. He'd probably follow her around here with a broom and dustpan. She turned back around quickly, her sundress twirling with her. "I can't wait to cook in here!"

"And I can't wait for my woman to make me a sandwich." He only said it to set her on edge. He knew that no way in hell, Darcy, would be the doting housewife. Truthfully, he wouldn't want her that way.

"Hell to the no! Uh-uh, I ain't that kinda woman," she shook her head and wagged her finger at Coulson as she walked out of the kitchen. "Make your own goddamn sandwich..." She threw him a little smirk, walking back into the living room. Mover-agents were hauling boxes in the room and piling them on the floor. Darcy couldn't wait to see what S.H.I.E.L.D packed for them. It would be like a Christmas surprise. Darcy headed up the creaky wooden stairs to the second floor with Phil following closely behind her.

There wasn't much up here except for three rooms; two bedrooms and a tiny bathroom. "So do you want the small bedroom or the smaller bedroom?" Darcy asked Phil as she poked her head into each room.

"Excuse us. Which room do you want the bed in?" Mover-Agent One said as he and the other Mover-Agent stood at the bottom on the stairs with a mattress, ready to haul it up to the stairs.

"You can put the bed in the room on the left," Phil said as he and Darcy went into the other room while they brought the mattress up the stairs.

Bed? Was there not 'Beds'? Surely they wouldn't actually-

"There's one bed," Phil said as if he read Darcy's mind. "I'll be sleeping on the futon. The other bedroom will be used as my writing office, there'll be a futon in there. I'll sleep on that." He made sure Darcy understood what he was saying.

A weight was lifted off Darcy's shoulder. "Oh, thank god for that!..." she laughed nervously. There was an awkward pause between them. "Okay, the bathroom is teeny-tiny but damn...look at the clawed foot bathtub!" Darcy said trying to break away from weirdness that just transpired between them. What was all that about anyway?

Phil pushed the shower curtain open, and Darcy looked down into the tub. "Oh my god!" She shrieked and jumped, stumbling, falling backwards. Two strong arms caught her just before she hit the floor. Okay, Agent Coulson had some really strong arms. Darcy could feel the muscles ripple as he hoisted her back up onto her feet. Who would have thought? She never envisioned him as one of the 'muscle agents'. Phil Coulson was a little less than average height; slender build; sometimes he wore black framed glasses, sometimes not. He was definitely a 'suit agent.'

Or so she thought.

So Darcy Lewis didn't like snakes. Phil chuckled silently to himself as he made sure she was steady on her feet again. "Afraid?" he asked with his eyebrow arching up. He was trying really hard not to laugh, but his lip was twitching. He glanced back to the curled up Milk snake. "It's completely non-venomous. Also, it's like four inches long," he chuckled as he reached down into the tub and carefully picked the baby snake up. Darcy scooted back a bit, she really didn't like snakes.

"I-I'm not afraid... Are you laughing at me?" Darcy placed her hands on her hips. Phil grinned, showing his shockingly perfect teeth again. He shook his head and carried the snake to the hallway, handing it to Mover-Agent One as he passed by.

"Get rid of this," he said with a nod.

"Yessir."

"Do you happen to have a spider phobia as well?" he smirked looking at Darcy.

She glared at him. "I do not-"

"Knock-knock!" a woman's voice called from the living room.

Darcy's eyes widened as she looked at Phil. Crap. People.

Phil had been actually been enjoying joking around with Agent Lewis, but now it was time to shift from that and slide into S.H.I.E.L.D agents working an undercover assignment. "Agent Lewis-" he whispered.

"I know. Darcy Coulson. Got it." Her stomach twisted up in knots as she thought about saying something that would blow their cover. No, she could do this. She was a damn good agent, she wouldn't fuck this up. She gave Coulson a confident smile and nod. He nodded back and then started to head down the stairs; Darcy followed closely behind.

Phil smiled at the woman and man who were waiting at the bottom of the stairs. "I hope you don't mind us barging in to your place!" the man laughed a deep hearty laugh. He was a short, balding man with a thin mustache. "Ken Cedar. Nice to meet you!" he said sticking his hand out.

"Phil Coulson." He said as shook the man's hand.

Ken grinned and looked over at the woman standing next to him. "This is my wife, Barbara."

"I made you brownies! Welcome to Shady Oaks!" Barbara said a bit too enthusiastically. She shoved the plate of chocolate brownies at Phil. He smiled and took them into his hands.

"Hi, I'm Darcy." Darcy smiled, and waved slightly.

"Ohhh, lovely!" Barbara smiled, then she looked back at Phil. "And is there a Mrs. Coulson here?"

Not good.

Phil smiled. "Actually," he put his arm around Darcy's waist and pulled her close to him. "This is Mrs. Coulson."

Barbara opened her mouth. "I-I'm so..." Her cheeks were burning red.

"It's perfectly alright," Phil chuckled.

Ken cleared his throat, clearly he was a bit embarrassed by his wife's mistake. He did wonder though how Phil snagged a pretty young thing, like Darcy. "We own the grocery store in town. It's small, but we stock everything you could possibly want to eat."

There was actual stores in Shady Oaks? Darcy was happy to hear that. Though, she was already imagining it to be like the lame ass general store in the old western shows. One stop shop for everything. She glanced down at her side, Phil's arm was still wrapped around her waist; his hand on her hip; thumb stroking slowly and gently over her hipbone. Her pulse quickened. "So.. what else in town besides the grocery store?" Darcy asked, trying to take her mind off Phil's amazing thumb work.

"Well," Barbara smiled, her blonde hair bouncing. "Let's see, there's Branson's. It's a great place to get a bite to eat or a drink. A lot of us hang out there almost every night. Oh!, and Al's, he's sells everything we don't! That's about it! Mostly we're just a small town. Most of the men here work in the woods. Logging, that's our big commodity here!"

Great. So ... two stores and a diner/bar. And lots of logs.

Ken nodded. "We're a small town, but a great town! So why did you folks decide to come to Shady Oaks?"

"I'm an author from Seattle. Working on my first novel about a small town. So Darce and I decided the best way for me to really get into the small town mindset was to move into one for a couple of months." Phil replied. Darcy could tell that he was taking in every little detail of the Cedars. He'd probably have them all figured out by the time they left.

"Excellent! We hardly ever get any out-of-towners. If we do, it's just because they've taken a wrong turn somewhere!" Ken laughed. He had a really annoying laugh. "Wow, an author! And what is it that you do?" he asked, smiling at Darcy.

"I'm a kindergarten teacher," Darcy said. Shit, or was she a first grade teacher?

"Oh lovely! We have some kids camps going on during the summer since school is out. You know how the kiddies get if they don't have anything to do. Maybe you can give us a hand since your husband will be busy working on his book! We'd apprieciate it. To tell you the truth, we're a little short-handed on help." Barbara said.

_Oh Fuckety Fuck Fuck..._

That was the last thing Darcy wanted to do. Work with actual kids... Fuck! "Oh, I don't-" she started to decline but felt Phil's hand squeeze her hip. "I...I would love to help you out. I love kids!" she lied.

"Do you have any?" Barbara asked, clasping her hands together.

Darcy shook her head. "No, not yet-"

"We're trying. A lot." Phil replied then gave Darcy gentle smile, looking intently into her eyes. Darcy could feel the heat rising to her cheeks and she quickly had to remind herself that this was all an act.

Ken looked from Phil to Darcy and then back to Phil. A big doofy grin spread across face. Barbara nudged him and her snapped back into reality. "Well, that's just great! Listen, the two of you should come down to Branson's tonight. Meet some of the other folks..that is if, you're not too tired," he said.

"We'd love too," Darcy replied looking up at Phil and then over to Ken.

"Wonderful! We'll see you there tonight, then!" Ken smiled, then looked at Barbara. His eyes shifted over to the 'movers' who were coming through with a desk. "Well, we'll get out of your way, so that you can get settled in! Nice to meet you and Welcome to Shady Oaks!"

"Thank you, see you at Branson's" Phil said with a wave of his hand.

"It was nice to meet-" Darcy started to say to Barbara.

"Oh, I'm so happy you're here!" Barbara said as she grabbed Darcy and gave her a hug. "You'll love it!"

Shit, this woman was squeezing her to death. Darcy tried to politely smile and push, Barbara off of her. "I know...I'm just sooo...happy!" Darcy faked her enthusiasm.

Barbara nodded, then grabbed Ken's hand. "Buh-bye!" They waved one last time and then headed out the door and down the driveway.

Phil shut the front door and then leaned up against it, exhaling deeply. "Well, that was interesting," he said looking at Darcy and then to the plate of brownies.

Darcy laughed. "Those two were the happiest fuckers I've ever seen in my entire life."

Phil chuckled.

"But, ewww. Ken was totally imagining us having sex, when you said we were trying to have kids. _A lot._ You, dirty old man...Get some curtains on these windows, otherwise, he might be hiding in the bushes at night hoping to see a free live action porno starring us." Soon as Darcy said it, the mental image of her and Phil 'getting it on' popped into her head. That was something she didn't need to think about. Ever. Not that it was horrible image or anything. Shit, she could feel herself getting warm. Time to change the subject.

"I wonder if the whole town is like that? Crazy," she said looking up at Coulson. He was staring back at her; faint pink spread across his cheeks. He wasn't thinking about he and her-

No. Not cool and calm Coulson. He didn't think about stuff like that, did he?

He quickly broke his gaze from Darcy, and looked down at the plate. "At least we got brownies out of it," he said with a thin smile, holding the plate out towards Darcy. His cheeks returned to their normal color. Hopefully, he'd never have another inappropriate thought of junior Agent Lewis like that again. He couldn't. He wouldn't.

"God, I hope they're weed brownies," Darcy said with a sigh, picking one of them up and taking a bite. Twenty minutes in Shady Oaks and it was already proving to be difficult.

This mission was going to kick her ass by the time it was over.


	4. Drinks and Conversation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love reviews! :)

A little over three hours ago, the Mover-Agents brought in the last of the boxes and furniture. They spoke to Coulson alone in the kitchen; while Darcy started to unpack things. She tried to strain her ears to listen in on their super sneaky spy conversation, but only got bits and pieces of it, and it all sounded like gibberish to her. They had given her a nod as they walked past, and headed outside, jumped in the moving van, and most likely, headed back to a S.H.I.E.L.D base. Phil walked out of the kitchen a couple of minutes after they left and started to help Darcy unpack the boxes. They didn't speak much, just once in a while, to ask each other where things should be placed. Darcy decided she'd work on the kitchen; while Coulson headed up stairs to the office. After another hour or so, Darcy's stomach started to grumble and she looked at the clock. It was past 6:30. She hadn't heard from Phil at all. In fact, it had been extremely quiet upstairs for the last couple of hours. She put down the coffee maker on the counter and headed out to the living room just as Phil was coming down the stairs.

"Oh, there you are. I was getting concerned," she said with a faint smile.

"Concerned?" he raised his eyebrow and smirked back. "Sorry. I was setting up the computer and making sure the network was secure so I could connect to the S.H.I.E.L.D mainframe. Then I had to email Director Fury and let him know that we were officially on assignment. Of course, he was asking a million different questions that I had no answers to yet. Get the kitchen set up?" he asked, trying to peek inside.

"Almost," she replied. He was definitely back into 'agent mode.'

"Did you happen to see if S.H.I.E.L.D packed us a coffee maker?" he asked.

"Yeah, I just pulled it out of the box." She had forgot how much of a coffee fiend Coulson was. Back when she was a level one, she used to make him a cup every morning. And afternoon. And evening. She chuckled to herself as she thought about how scared she used to be going into his office. He'd rarely ever look up at her; his face was always pointed at a computer screen or at paperwork. He'd just mutter 'thanks' and she'd set it down on the desk and leave. He liked it black with one spoonful of sugar.

"Good," he nodded. He glanced at the kitchen clock. It was getting late and he was getting hungry. He assumed that Darcy was as well. "You hungry?"

"Yes! I don't know how much more unpacking I can take tonight. The stuff S.H.I.E.L.D packed for us, doesn't really go with the theme of the house. It's so ... modern." She crinkled her nose.

"Well, we are from Seattle." He walked over to a box and looked inside. "Found the curtains," he said pulling them out and walking over to the window.

"Get those suckers up," Darcy laughed. "I am so not kidding about that Ken guy. Creep factor times ten."

Phil chuckled as he climbed on the couch and hung curtains up. "So are you ready to meet some more townies?" He looked back at Darcy and smiled.

"If I have to."

"Remember to listen for anything that may give us any clues to our mission. Make mental notes on things that they say, do, how they carry themselves ... anything." He stepped off the couch, and looked at Darcy. "Alright, 'scopophiliac proofed.'" He made a gesture to the window now complete with curtains.

"Scopophi-what?" Darcy shook her head. Wasn't he cleaver for using such big words?

"Peeping Tom ... or shall I say 'peeping Ken' proofed."

Darcy giggled. "Okay, you. Let's go get some dinner and meet the rest of the town." She grabbed her purse and her black sweater, and waited for Phil to get his car keys.

"Sounds, good, sweetheart," he smirked as they headed out the door.

 

* * *

 

They found Branson's easily enough. They just drove down Main Street and it was right on the corner, right next to Cedar's and Al's. It was a small brown building with a hand-painted sign that said, 'Branson's Tavern.' Outside there were several cars, beat up looking pickup trucks, a police car, and a motorcycle. The place looked a bit a bit rough around the edges. Phil pulled in the driveway and made sure to park his car away from all the other vehicles. He jumped out and went around to Darcy's side, opening the door for her before she even had the chance to.

"Thanks," she gave him a smile, then looked up at the tavern. "Man, I was hoping that it was going to look more like  _Merlotte's,"_ she said with a frown as they walked up the gravel walkway.

"With or without the vampires?" Phil asked, as he opened the front entrance door for her.

" _True Blood_  fan?" she asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Up until about season three. It just got unbelievable then," he smirked as they walked into tavern.

The fact that Phil just admitted that he watched  _True Blood_ , amazed Darcy. She didn't think he'd be into something like that. The fact that it was practically soft-core porn... She felt herself heating up again, imagining him sitting there watching a Sookie and Bill sex scene. He had to be just joking with her. He seemed more like an  _NCIS or a CSI_ kinda guy. "Everyone is staring at us," Darcy whispered to Phil. Almost everyone in the tavern stopped what they were doing as soon as Darcy and Phil walked in. Dozens of sets of eyes all staring back at them. It was making Darcy feel pretty uncomfortable, and if she hadn't been on a work assignment she would have said, ' _fuck this shit!'_  and hightailed out of there.

"You guys came!" Barbara said as she ran over to Darcy and Phil. She gave Darcy a quick hug and smiled at Phil. "How's unpacking going? Do you need any help? I'd be more than happy to give you a hand!"

Darcy's brain felt like it was going to explode. This woman was way to fucking excitable for her liking. "It's going good. And I don't mind unpacking, it's therapeutic," She said giving the woman a polite smile. "But thanks for offering."

"Sure, no problem. Oh, and I told my friend that you're a teacher and she's super excited about you helping with the preschool art camp in a few weeks!" Barbara said as she led Phil and Darcy over to an empty table.

"Art camp?" Darcy questioned as she slid into the booth.

"It's going to be so much fun! I'll introduce you to her later! Oh, we are just going be The Three Amigos! You, me, and her." She waved and then drifted back over to the table she was sharing with Ken and a few other people.

"Art? I can't do art!" Darcy said in a hushed voice as she watched Phil slide into the same side of the booth she was sitting on. She wasn't used to that. All the guys she had ever been with always sat across from her.

"Would you rather teach science or math?" Phil asked as he looked at the drink specials.

"Political Science?" Darcy shrugged.

"To preschoolers?"

"Yeah, that probably wouldn't be such a hot idea, at least I know something about Poli Sci, though. The last time I tried to do anything artsy ... well ... let me just say that it was a complete disaster," she shrugged and peered over at the menu in his hand. "Are we allowed to drink?" she whispered.

"I wouldn't see why it would be a problem."

"Oh, I thought maybe we couldn't because it might impair our judgement," she said in another hushed voice.

Phil looked over at her and smirked. "Do you plan on getting plastered?"

Darcy winked. "Maybe." She grabbed the menu out of his hands just as a the waitress came over.

"Hiya, I'm Beth. You're the Coulsons, right? Welcome to Shady Oaks," a petite brunette said as she got her notepad out. "What can I get you?"

"Ummm, I'll have the Sour Apple martini and an order of the fiesta nachos," Darcy said with a smile. She looked at Phil, wondering if he was going to order an  _old man drink_ , like a rum and coke or something.

"Neat Bourbon," Phil said to Beth and looked at the appetizer specials. "And an order of buffalo wings and mozzarella sticks. Thanks."

"You got it. I'll get that right in for you," Beth said with a smile as she walked off.

"Like your liquor straight from bottle to glass?" Darcy grinned. She found that oddly sexy for some reason.

He shrugged. "Would you have still respected me if I ordered a Cosmo?"

"Who says I respect you now?" she said in a teasing voice. He looked back at her with not much of an expression on his face, except his eyes. Darcy had never really noticed how blue they were, the little lines around them crinkled when his lip twitched in a faint smile. He had very expressive eyes.

Phil put his arm over the back of the booth behind Darcy and leaned in closely, his lips just barely touching her ear. "Don't look now, but I think we're about to get a visit from the local law enforcement," he whispered.

Darcy tensed up soon as Phil leaned into her. His lips never touched her but his hot breath tickled her ear. His voice was a low smooth whisper; she could smell just a hint of his cologne. She told herself that this was just an act; they were supposed to be acting as husband and wife. She shouldn't be getting turned on, but she was. She knew that he was just playing the part. Phil Coulson was a level 7 agent, of course he was going to be fantastic at undercover operations. She was a bit disappointed when he pulled away, but at least she could breathe properly now.

"Good evening, folks," a man in a sheriff's uniform came over. He was a tall, lanky man with a scruffy beard and dark green eyes. "I'm Sheriff Dunham. So you're the Coulson? Ken and Barbie told me all about you," he said as he sat opposite from them.

Ken and Barbie? Darcy had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud, but her shoulders were heaving slightly. Phil noticed too, because flicked her thigh with his finger underneath the table to get her knock it off.

"Phil Coulson," Phil said as he reached his hand over and shook Dunham's hand. "This is my wife, Darcy."

"Nice to meet you, ma'am." He gave her a slight smile and a nod. "We don't get many visitors here," his voice trailed off oddly.

Darcy watched as Phil picked up on right away. Phil raised his eyebrows and smiled at Dunham. "Why is that? This looks like a perfect little town to visit. Pretty woods, quiet setting..."

Dunham chuckled. "Well, you're from a big city. This all new to you, if you weren't writing a book, you might get a bit bored after a while," he looked up just as Beth brought the food and drinks over to the table. Dunham stood up. "Well, just wanted to welcome you to town. I'll let you two get to your dinner. Oh, just a bit of friendly advice, if you do decide to go out to the woods, make sure you stay on the designated path and don't go out after dusk. Night." He tipped his hat and walked off.

Darcy groaned inwardly as she looked at Phil. He gave her a wink, which meant, before long that they'd be traipsing through the woods at night and they wouldn't be on the designated path. That thought made her stomach churn. She grabbed her drink and took a sip. "So not excited about that," she muttered.

He grabbed a nacho off the plate. "It'll be fun," he grinned and then took a bite.

Phil and Darcy had gotten half way though eating when Barbara or 'Barbie' came back to their table with another woman. "I hope I'm not interrupting you guys, but I wanted you to meet Melissa Parker, Darcy. She's head of the summer camp program I was telling you about,"

"Hi, nice to meet you, Darcy," Melissa said with a sweet smile. She was tall with long red hair, pale skin slightly dotted with freckles, and sparkling green eyes. Almost too pretty to be in a dumpy town like Shady Oaks. A total redheaded goddess.

Darcy smiled back. "I'm excited to help with art camp!" Darcy lied. For some reason she felt extremely inadequate in the looks department all of the sudden. "This is my husband Phil."

Melissa smiled. "So you're an author? Anything I might know?"

Phil took a sip of his bourbon. "Mostly just editorial pieces. Hoping to break into the novel scene," he smiled warmly.

Barbara started talking to Darcy about something, but Darcy wasn't paying attention really. She was too invested in listening in on Phil and Melissa's conversation. They started talking about books, then they got on the subject of environmental issues. He was laughing; she was laughing, and Darcy didn't like it one bit.

"Right dear?" Barbara said looking at Darcy.

"What?" Darcy looked over at the other woman. She had no fucking clue what she had even said in the last ten minutes.

"I said, it'll be nice having all three of us working together at camp. Oh, and it starts in two weeks. So mark it on your calendar!" Barbara chuckled and wagged her finger.

"Oh, yeah..." Darcy nodded, but her eyes were totally on Melissa and Phil.

Barbara tapped Melissa on the shoulder. "Well, hon, we better let them finish their meal."

"Right, it was nice meeting you Phil ... And you too, Darcy! Can't wait to work with you!" Melissa said as she started to walk away with Barbara. She stopped and turned around. "And I want an autographed book from you when you get it written!" she giggled looking directly at Phil.

"Of course!" Phil smiled.

Darcy rolled her eyes.

 

* * *

 

By the end of the evening they met a bunch of other people from Shady Oaks. There was Bob Roger, he ran a computer repair business; Al Pennyman, of Al's store; Jenna Miller, the postal worker; and a bunch of other people Darcy couldn't remember. She and Phil finished their food and each had another drink, before they headed out to the car.

"I should have ordered different drink," Phil said as he opened the car door for Darcy.

"Maybe a Redheaded Slut?" Darcy muttered, crossing her arms as Phil got in the car and started it up. "She was totally 'eyeball fucking' you, you know?" She glanced in Phil's direction as he pulled out onto the road.

"Who was?" he said glancing over at Darcy.

"Melissa." Was he really oblivious to her flirting? He couldn't have been, because he was totally having a good time talking to her. All laughing and joking. Darcy leaned back in the seat a bit. "We're supposed to be 'deeply in love.'"

"I only have eyes for one girl."

"Fictional Phil does," she murmured to herself. She couldn't help to wonder if real Phil had the hots for Melissa Parker. She wasn't even sure why she was getting upset about that, it's not like she and Phil were romantically involved.

Phil could sense that Darcy was sort of upset as he looked over at her again. "Darcy, we're on a mission for S.H.I.E.L.D trying to figure what's going on in this town. We need to make friends to find out information. If you think I want to sleep with her, you're wrong."

"You think she's hot though?"

"I've seen better," he looked over at her and smiled softly.

Darcy grinned. "Yeah, right. The woman was a goddess." Maybe she was reading into all this too much. Phil was right, they needed to make friends. That's all he was trying to do. He was just doing what he needed to do, to complete the mission. And that's what she needed to do as well. Melissa was still too flirty for her liking, though. "I can't wait to get to sleep when we get home," she said with a little yawn.

"Really?" he glanced over at her. "But we have the curtains up now," he raised his eyebrows quickly a couple of times, grinning.

"Oh my god..." Darcy rolled her eyes and chuckled as they pulled into their drive way. "Phil Coulson is a flirt."

He shook his head with a slight smile as they both got out of the car and walked slowly to the house with just the starlight to lead them through the darkness. Darcy stumbled over a rock, and Phil caught her; wrapping his arm around her waist; pulling her close to him. "Drunk?" he teased.

Darcy laughed. "If I get drunk on two watered down martinis, then I have a serious problem. I haven't been drunk in a long time. You?" she asked, enjoying the closeness of the two of them.

"A couple of years ago. Too many shots of Jäger with Barton," he said jiggling the key into the doorknob.

 _"Whaaat?!"_  Darcy laughed. "Why has he never told me about that?!" This was a story she needed to hear.

"Because I said I would kill him, if he told anyone." Phil opened the door finally and motioned for Darcy to go in first.

"I would _pay_  to see you drunk off your ass!" she laughed. "And Jäger...ugh!" she made a fake gagging noise.

"I will say that Barton passed out first," he said as they headed up the stairs. It was way past midnight now, both of them were completely exhausted.

Darcy laughed all the way up the stairs, shaking her head. "Oh my god, Phil is a  _badass muthafucka_  ..." She stopped in the small hallway upstairs and peeked in the 'office' room. "That sucks, you have to sleep on that," she said looking at the black futon. Those things were the most uncomfortable things in the world.

Phil shrugged. "It's better than sleeping in a giant drain pipe in Afghanistan, which I've done. Futon will be a luxury." He walked into the room and pulled it open.

Darcy smiled softly as she watched Phil grab a blanket out of one of the boxes, before she headed into her bedroom. Her bed was already made up for her, and she smiled. He had put all the sheets, blankets, and pillows on the bed for her so that she didn't have to do it. For some reason it just melted her heart a bit. She turned around and headed back to his room. "Thanks, Phil-" she stopped dead in her tracks, he had just pulled his shirt over his head when she barged in on him.

She stood there for a moment, staring at his naked chest. And it was a glorious chest. Darcy liked the smooth hairless look on her men usually, but, damn, she just wanted to rake her hands through the hair on his. "...thanks...for making up the bed for me..." she quickly broke her gaze from him and looked at the floor.

Phil could have said some smart ass remark to her for walking in on him. Jokingly, of course, but he saw that she was clearly embarrassed so he decided not to. "You're welcome, Darcy. Sweet dreams," he said softly as he grabbed a white t-shirt and slipped it over his head.

Darcy looked back up at him. "You too. See you in the morning." She turned around and headed back to her room, her heart beating rapidly all the way there.


	5. Children are Mosters

Darcy woke up the next morning to the sunlight shining in her face. She squinted, then rolled over on her stomach to look at the clock. It was 9:45. She sat up quickly, cursing herself for sleeping in. "Shit!" She jumped out of bed and grabbed her clothes, wondering why Phil didn't wake her up. She opened the door and headed into the hallway; a hot shower awaited for her, hopefully without anymore snakes.

"Morning!"

Darcy jumped and dropped all her clothes. Phil was sitting in his office/bedroom at his computer; steaming cup of coffee in his hand. She bent down to pick all her stuff up off the floor, hoping that her tiny shorts were covering enough of her ass. She blushed at the thought of the memory of the bare-chested Phil she saw last night. "God, you scared the crap out of me!" she said, sounding harsher than she meant.

Phil scrunched his brows together slightly. "Sorry," he apologized, pushing the black framed glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

Darcy sighed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap. I'm just really bitchy in the mornings, especially before a shower and a cup of coffee," she apologized, giving him a faint smile. She leaned up against the door frame of his office, crossing her arms, hoping to hide her braless chest. Her thin white Hello Kitty shirt alone would not conceal what she had going on underneath it.

"Noted," he replied with a smile, sticking his cup out towards her. "Coffee?"

Darcy looked down at the cup and then back to his face. Clint and her shared food and drinks all the time, and thought nothing of it. For some reason it just felt a bit too intimate to share Phil's coffee. "Umm, I'll just get some when I'm finished with my shower."

He nodded. "I cleaned the tub this morning when I got up," he said. "And I checked for snakes ... and spiders."

Darcy grinned. "Did you get up at the ass crack of dawn? Why didn't you get me up? I feel bad for sleeping in."

"I woke up at 4:30-"

"Oh my god! I'm glad you didn't wake me up then!" she said shaking her head.

"Didn't sleep well-"

"Futon?" Darcy smirked.

Phil nodded. "Yeah. I guess a drain pipe in Afghanistan is more comfortable than a futon."

"Worst invention ever," Darcy joked.

Phil nodded, then looked back at his computer screen. "I've been reading over the file on this town. I'll send you a copy later to look over," he said looking back at Darcy.

"Okay. So what exactly is the game plan here?" She asked.

"Let's lay low for the first couple of weeks. Get to know the people in the town. Keep to ourselves for the most part. We won't go out and do any forest exploring right away. Basically, we'll just play the husband and wife part for now," Phil said.

"Sounds good. I really don't want to do this art camp thing though. I suck at art ... and kids," she groaned just thinking about it.

Phil chuckled. "Darcy, you'll do great. I don't have any doubt in my mind."

 

* * *

 

The next two weeks flew by, and before Darcy knew it she was gearing up for the first day of art camp. She walked downstairs that morning with a scowl on her face. "The day I've been fearing has finally come," she rolled her eyes walking into the kitchen.

Phil looked up from his newspaper. "Morning sunshine!" he smirked.

Darcy grumbled as she got a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. She and Phil had grown a bit closer over the last two weeks, as friends and not much more. Not that Darcy had expected they would or anything. They were good work friends and that was all. Even if Darcy secretly wished for maybe a little something to happen between them. "Melissa called me last night just before I went to bed. She and Barbie are super stoked about today!" Darcy said in a mocking voice, rolling her eyes. "It seems like everyone in this town is a little too happy all the time. It's creepy. Except for Sheriff Dunham, he's creepy but in a whole different way."

Phil nodded. "Just remember you're on assignment, Darce. Keep your ears open while you're at camp for anything unusual."

Phil started calling her, Darce, at some point during the last two weeks. It was sweet. She nodded. "I will." She looked up at the clock and groaned again. "Oh my god ... I got to get going now."

"It's only for three hours," Phil smirked. He thought it was quite comical how Darcy was acting about all of this. Teaching kids to do finger painting and whatever couldn't be that bad. Hell, he wished that he could trade places with her.

"Three hours with little monsters," she said grabbing her purse. "I cannot wait to get home!" She added as she headed towards the door.

"You want me drive you there and pick you up later?" Phil offered.

"Nah, it only takes fifteen minutes to walk into town. The fresh air will calm my nerves," she said stopping at the door and turned around.

"Alright, see you when you get home, sweetie," he smiled and then went back to reading his paper.

"Later gator," she said and then winced. That sounded absolutely stupid. She heard him chuckling behind his paper as she walked out the door.

 

* * *

 

It only took ten minutes to get into town. Darcy groaned as soon as she walked into the school. She really didn't want to be here because she knew it was going to be like stepping into hell.

"You're here!" Barbara said running over to Darcy, giving her a hug. "The kids will be here any moment, I've got everything set up! We are doing finger painting and making macaroni noodle necklaces today."

"Awesome," Darcy forced a smile. She looked around the classroom, it had been set up with little tables and chairs. Paper, paintbrushes, paint, crayons, and markers had been lined up along the shelves.

"Ooohh, you'll probably want to wear an art smock. It's bound to get messy, and you wouldn't want your pretty dress to get messed up." Barbara handed Darcy a paint splatter white art smock.

"Where's Melissa?" Darcy asked, putting the smock on.

"Oh ... well, she had a bit of a problem this morning ... She'll be here soon." Barbara said quickly. She didn't elaborate on it anymore, which Darcy found a bit odd. "Oh, look! The kids are here!" She said, running over to the door to greet them.

It was like a herd of elephants stomping through the classroom. They were like wild banshees, screaming and laughing, running all over the place. Kids. Darcy's worst nightmare. "Oh my god ... Here we go," she muttered under her breath. Suddenly she was really jealous that Phil was at home, he was undoubtedly working on S.H.I.E.L.D stuff, but Darcy would do practically anything to trade places with him. "Okay, kids ... let's all find a seat!" Darcy yelled, probably more loudly than she should have.

Of course none of the kids listened to her. They all kept running around, screaming at the top of their lungs. Darcy wanted to do the exact same thing. One of the kids started running circles around Darcy trying to dodge another kid who was threatening to throw a bottle of paint at him. "Okay stop! Stop!" Darcy said, trying to get paint bottle kid to put his 'weapon' down.

"Children!" a sweet voice called from the doorway. It was Goddess Melissa. She was dressed in a cute sundress, flower in her hair, and her make up flawless. "Please sit down now. We're going to begin class." She walked over to Darcy and smiled.

"Hey, nice work with the kids. They wouldn't listen to me," Darcy said with a faint smile. "I hope everything is okay ... Barbara said you had a problem."

"Oh, well, they don't know you yet. They'll come around I'm sure," she said giving her sweet smile to Darcy again. "And everything is just dandy!" She added before she hurried off to get the paint supplies ready for the kids.

Well, that pretty much meant everything is not  _dandy_. Darcy could definitely sense that Melissa was hiding something. Barbara also, she knew something as well. What exactly, well that was TBD. Maybe if she was lucky she could figure it out before she left for the day. She'd wanted to have something to report to Phil, to make him proud of her. Let him know that she could be a top S.H.I.E.L.D agent. Who knew, maybe she'd get to do more field missions. Darcy certainly didn't want to just work at the HQ for the rest of her career.

"Can I have some paint please?" A little voice called from behind Darcy.

Darcy turned and smiled at the little girl. "Of course you can," she said getting some paint and paper for the little girl. This was a perfectly polite little child, just like they were supposed to be. "What's your name? I'm Mrs. Coulson."

"Annie Martin. You're pretty," Annie giggled. "Will you sit by me?"

Darcy absolutely loved this little girl. "Sure," she smiled handing her the paint and paper. She watched as Annie headed back to the table all the way back in the corner and sat down alone. Her heart broke for the little girl.

"Everyone, I want to introduce you to Mrs. Coulson," Barbara said loudly. "She and her husband just moved into to town for the summer."

"Yes, her husband is an author! He's writing a book about a small town just like ours." Melissa seemed to light up when she was talking about Phil, and that didn't sit to well with Darcy at all. "Mrs. Coulson is going to be helping us with art camp. Everyone be very nice to her!" Melissa giggled.

"Okay, let's work on our finger paint pictures!" Barbara chimed in. The class got extremely noise again with little screeching voices.

Darcy started to walked back to sit with Annie, when she stumbled over a foot. A bunch of kids laughed as Darcy pulled herself up off a desk. She squinted her eyes at the freckled boy. "That wasn't very nice," she said in a warning voice.

"Brian was just trying to see if he could see your underwear," another boy laughed. "He thinks you're hot!"

"I do not! Shut up, Kevin!" the freckled boy yelled.

How old were these kids? Seven? Eight? Darcy didn't even know what to say. Well, she knew what she wanted to say but knew she'd get in deep shit if she said it. Instead she forced a smile and headed back to Annie's table but not before she was hit in the back of the head with a wad of paper.

Little shits.

 

* * *

 

Darcy felt like she was beat with a bat by the time she walked up the driveway to the house. Art camp sucked big time. Except for Annie. Darcy really liked the little girl, she was sweet and polite, unlike the other little monsters in the classroom. She wondered why Annie didn't have any friends though? Maybe because she was too nice? Maybe because she wasn't a crazy little psycho like the rest of them? Darcy walked up the steps to the porch and stopped to look at the swing that hanging on it. That wasn't there this morning. "Phil," she said as she opened the door to the house. "I'm back." She tossed her purse on the table and walked into the kitchen to find Phil laying down on the floor with his head under the sink.

"Did it go well?" he called from underneath the sink.

"I need ice cream. I need wine," Darcy said. She smirked as she was watching him work; tools spread all around him.

He chuckled as he blindly reached for a wrench that was laying next to the red tool box. "That bad, huh?"

"Sucked. Except there was one sweet little girl. I felt bad for her because no one else paid any attention to her. She kinda reminded me of me at that age. Also something is up with Melissa and Barbara. They were acting sort of weird today. I'll figure it out." Darcy said as she knelt down on the floor and tried to peek into the cabinet that Phil's head was in. "What's going on in there?"

"Plugged up. Thought I'd fix it instead of calling someone," he said as he slid out and smiled up at Darcy. "And fixed."

She grinned down at him. "Nice work, handyman Phil," she said, eyes flicking down at his chest. He was covered in splattered water and dirt. She wrinkled her nose. "You definitely need a shower now ... 'cause you stink." Darcy stood up and chuckled, reaching to take his hand to help pull him up.

Phil nodded as he wiped his hands off on the sides of his jeans. "I was thinking the exact same thing," he said as began to pick up his tools and toss them back in the box. "Do you want to get a pizza tonight?"

"That sounds good. I'm afraid if we go out anywhere tonight I'll run into Barbara and Melissa. I can only deal with them so much in one day," she said with a smirk on her face as she looked at Phil's ass. He had a great ass. More often that not, Darcy found herself staring at it when he had his back to her. "So ... where did the porch swing come from?"

"Found it in the shed."

"And you put it up all by yourself?"

Phil turned towards Darcy and grinned. "Well, I'm pretty good at screwing-" His phone buzzed mid-sentence and he picked it up immediately and headed out into the other room.

"Pretty good at screwing?" Darcy chuckled to herself as she watched him head upstairs. It was not exactly a great place to leave a sentence hanging, especially since Darcy's mind was usually in the gutter. She grinned then opened the fridge and got a can on soda out. She leaned up against the wall, sighing deeply. Two weeks into the assignment and she was starting to have major feelings for Phil Coulson. She tried to push them out of her mind. She told herself that it was just because they were working so closely with each other. It was hard not to have feelings though, because she was finding out that Phil was actually sweet and funny. Not at all like the grumpy stoned faced agent that she had always thought he was.

 

* * *

 

Phil had spent the rest of the day and into the evening up in his office with the door shut. Instead of ordering pizza, Darcy made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a side Doritos. She ate alone in the kitchen, not daring to even go knock on his door; whatever he was doing in there was probably, like, Level 7 top secret stuff. She waited for him to come down stairs, and when he didn't she decided to go up stairs to take a shower. Darcy paused just a moment outside his door to listen, but the only sound she could make out was the tapping of fingers on a keyboard. She stood there for a moment with her fist balled up, ready to knock.

"Yeah..." She heard his voice say on the other side of the door. She was about to answer but realized he was talking to someone over the phone, quickly Darcy crept into the bathroom, and started up the shower.

A bit later she emerged from the bathroom, wearing a pair of black shorts and hot pink tank top. She piled her damp hair on top her head in a bun, and headed down the stairs. Walking into the kitchen, she grabbed a cookie and then headed outside to sit on the porch swing. It was peaceful out there, with only the sound of the creaking swing and chirps of insects and frogs. She nibbled on her cookie and zoned out until the opening of the screen door snapped her out of her trance.

"Hey," Phil said softly, carrying two glasses of red wine. "Sorry, I got caught up in some work stuff. Thank you for the sandwich." He smiled and handed Darcy a glass of wine.

"Thank you," Darcy nodded and patted the seat next to her. He sat down and took a sip of his wine. Darcy smiled. "So ... Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," he smiled. "I just had to get some stuff done that couldn't wait until after I got back. I'm just sorry I missed most of the evening with you. It's nice out here ... Quiet," he said as he looked out into the night sky.

"I definitely needed the quietness after all the yelling and screaming today. Those little shits wore the fuck outta me!" Darcy chuckled. "I don't know if I'm going to last. I'm no good with kids."

Phil laughed. "You will. I bet you're better with kids that you think you are."

Darcy snorted. "They didn't listen to me. One boy tried to trip me so he could get a look at my underwear." She took a sip of wine.

"All boys like a hot teacher," Phil grinned and gave her a little wink.

Darcy laughed. "Oh my god..." She shook her head and then tipped it gently so that it fell against his shoulder. She had only meant to keep it there for a couple of seconds, but when he didn't budge or seem to mind, she left it resting against him. They rocked back and forth on the swing listening to the night sounds, and then Phil slipped his arm over the back of the swing behind Darcy.

"Your hair smells good," he whispered, his chin was resting lightly on the top of her head.

Her heart jumped and she sat there frozen for a second, thinking what she should do. Part of her knew she should just say 'thanks' and let the moment fizzle out. The other part of her wanted to put her lips all over him, kiss him fiercely until they both needed to break away for air. To run her hands all over his chest, run them up his back and rake them through his short hair. She'd pull him close to her again, slide her tongue against his lip until he allowed her entrance; she'd nibble, bite, and suck until both their lips were swollen. Darcy could feel the heat rising to her face just thinking about what could happen.

"Thanks..." she said slowly looking up at him.

"You're welcome," he whispered back, his eyes were slowly searching all over her face, as if he were looking for permission to kiss her. He tipped his face closer to hers without taking his eyes off her.

"He's going to do it..." Darcy thought. She could feel her chest beating faster and she kept chanting 'kiss me, kiss me' over and over in her head. Usually, she would have just made a move, but for some reason, with Phil, she couldn't. She wanted him to make the initiative and she would be more than happy to reciprocate. She could feel his warm breath on her face; smell the wine on his lips. She swallowed hard and closed her eyes just as he was about to put his lips on hers.

There was a loud popping sound and then a snap of chain just as one side of the porch swing detached. Darcy fell to the floor with a huge thud and Phil fell next to her. The porch swing had just missed hitting them both. " _Christ..._ " Phil muttered, using his forearm to push himself up a bit. "Darcy... Are you okay?"

"I ... I'm fine..." she said, pulling herself up. She looked back at the swing and silently told it to 'go fuck itself' for ruining the kiss that was about to happen. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Phil nodded. "Yep," he said pulling himself to his feet and then helping Darcy to hers. "Watch the glass." He pointed to the shattered wine glasses.

"Darcy laughed. "So I guess I should call the handyman that put this thing up and chew him out? He really did a shitty job," she teased.

"Yeah..." Phil grinned sheepishly and ran his hand through his hair. Inwardly, he was cursing himself for ruining a perfect moment, but then again maybe it was a good thing the swing did break. Getting close to a junior agent that was half his age was not the ideal, and he had to remind himself that over and over. "I'll get the glass and the rest of the mess cleaned up," he said as he began to move the swing out of the way.

"I can give you a hand if-"

"No, Darce, it's fine. It's getting late, and I know you need to get up early. Don't worry, I've got it." He gave her a slight smile.

"Um, okay..." she said quietly, watching him turn away from her. He looked really bothered by something, and if she had to guess, it wasn't because of his crappy handyman job. "Night then," she said and then went back inside the house.


	6. Stakeout and Make Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love it? Don't love it? Let me know with a comment :)

Phil had barely slept at all that night. Not just because of the metal bar of the futon that dug into his back, but also because he almost kissed junior agent Lewis. He was letting his feelings get in the way of the assignment. He rolled over and tucked his arm underneath his pillow, trying to make sense of thoughts in his head. Did he have feelings for Darcy? Like real romantic feelings? Or was it just because he was letting this pretend life interfere with his real life? Darcy was pretty. No, not just pretty; she was beautiful. She was a lot smarter than he first thought; she still had that damn mouth on her, but she could be just as sweet as she was crass. And, if Phil was being honest with himself; he liked her dirty mouth and her sarcastic sense of humor. He found it kind of cute.

She was also 23 years old, making their age difference 22 years apart. He was old enough to be her father, which wasn't a pleasant thought. She was young and vibrant; he was nearing 50 and losing his hair. He doubted that Darcy would want anything to do with an old man like himself, not when she could have her pick of any guy she chose. Work was the other problem. Even if they wanted to be together; it wasn't allowed.

It was late in the afternoon the next day, when Darcy walked in the front door. "I missed you this morning. Did you sleep in?" she asked, setting a bag of groceries down on the floor.

Phil looked up from his laptop and took off his glasses. "Hey," he said with a smile. "I did. I didn't exactly sleep well again. Now I'm behind on work stuff," he said making a gesture to his computer.

"You really need to get a better bed," she said, coming over and sitting down next to him. "Sorry, I'm late. After camp I had to help Melissa with a few things, then I headed to the grocery store. I got stuff to make stir fry tonight," she smiled.

"Yummy," he said returning her smile. Neither of them had mentioned the 'almost kiss' as if they were too scared to bring it up. "So was camp better today?"

Darcy rolled her eyes. "Well, I think I got all the paste out of my hair. They hate me, it's like they know I'm not a real teacher. Oh, and get this ... Barbara was late this morning and when I asked her if everything was okay, she quickly changed the subject."

Phil nodded. "And I talked to Ken today at the grocery store. He was acting strange ... Stranger than usual. He said that he had been at the store all morning but he had fresh mud on his shoes," he said looking at Darcy. "You better get some rest, we're going to be out late tonight."

"Uh-oh. I don't think I like the sound of this, Phil." Darcy said, wrinkling her nose. "What are we doing?"

"Good old fashioned stakeout tonight," he winked.

"Please don't say in the forest."

Phil grinned. "Where else would we go?"

* * *

After dinner and a quick clean up of the kitchen, Darcy went upstairs to get a couple of hours of rest. She shut her door and flopped down on her bed, wishing she could just get into her pajamas and crawl under her covers for the night. Phil informed her that they'd drive out to the cliff that over looked the forest at midnight. There was a secluded spot there where they could hide and do surveillance. Darcy was just relieved that they wouldn't be running around in the woods in pitch black darkness. No, sitting in a car with binoculars sounded perfect to her. She reached over and took her taser out of the nightstand; she figured she'd take it tonight just in case something went wrong. She hoped nothing would, but it was a good idea to be prepared. She sighed as she thought about Phil. They hadn't talked about the porch swing incident at all. She had thought about mentioning it, but it seemed like that it might complicate things more than they already were. She just figured it was one of those heat of the moment situations. Still, she couldn't help but think what could have happened if that swing hadn't broke...

Darcy reached over and flipped the light off, she closed her eyes, and tried not to dwell on Phil or the stakeout. All she wanted to do was rest. Just when she started to doze off, her phone lit up and started to vibrate. She reached over and picked it up, squinting at the screen.

<Hey girl. How is it going?>

Clint.

Darcy smiled, but shook her head as she began to reply. <A condom?!> She still was mad at him for that dirty joke.

<Hahahaha! I'm LOL'ing for ever. What R U doing?> Clint responded a second later.

<First of all, R U OK? How was the mission?> Darcy hit sent.

<Just peachy. Mission went well. I'm flying back to base right now.>

<Good :) I'm getting ready to go on a stakeout later. Resting now on my bed with my trusty friend.> She replied.

<Your vibrator?>

Darcy snorted out loud and shook her head. <No, U ass! My taser. I'm taking it just in case shit goes down.>

<Got it ;) So how's married life?> Clint asked.

Darcy debated whether or not she should let Clint know how she was feeling about Coulson, but decided doing it over texts wouldn't be the best thing. She needed to have that conversation face to face with him. She sighed and started to text. <It's good. U were right. Coulson is a good man. I like him.>

<U like him? Like him-like him?>

Of course Clint would read into that, Darcy felt dumb for even putting that in her text. Now he was going to hound her forever until she gave him the details. She closed her eyes and started to text, when there was a knock at her door.

"Darce, we better get going." Phil's voice called from the other side of the door.

"Oh, okay, I'll be down in a second," she called out loudly. She looked back down at her phone when she heard Phil head down the stairs. {Hey gotta go. Stakeout time. Love ya.} She sent.

<K Have Fun!> Clint replied.

Darcy stuffed her phone into her bag and then headed downstairs. Phil was leaning up against the arm of the couch with his arms crossed and a smile on his face. "You ready?"

"I am going to be dead tired tomorrow at camp. I just want you to know that now," she smirked.

He chuckled as he picked up the black bag at his feet. "I'll try not to keep you up late, Darcy." He jingled his car keys and then headed out the door.

Darcy groaned as she followed him outside and hopped into the car.

* * *

They drove slowly with through the streets, it was around midnight now and every house they passed was dark, which was a good thing. If anyone saw a Corvette rolling through the streets at that time of night it was certainly going to raise some eyebrows. Neither of them spoke until they turned off the paved road onto a dirt road that twisted it's way up a steep hill.

"Umm ... I think that sign we just passed said 'road closed'" Darcy said looking over at Phil.

He nodded. "Sure did. I hiked up here last week. There's a perfect spot to survey the forest-"

"Wait? When did you come up here?" Darcy asked.

"Last Tuesday night. You were sleeping," he said pulling his car off the road over to a secluded spot.

Darcy raised her eyebrows. Okay Phil was doing a lot more SHIELD spying stuff than she was. He was out snooping around and doing who knew whatever else, while she was sleeping and playing pretend teacher to a bunch of kids. Suddenly Darcy felt like a lousy S.H.I.E.L.D agent. "Have you been doing a lot of ..."

"Darcy-"

"No, I just feel like I haven't been pulling my weight. Like, I've just been playing teacher and wife for the last couple of weeks. I feel like I need to be doing more ..."

Phil smiled softly, "Darcy, you're doing a perfect job," he said turning the engine off. He looked over at her again. "And we're now just getting into all the actual 'dirt' of the mission. You'll have a lot to do soon enough."

She nodded. "Okay, I just want ... to make you proud of me. I want to show you that I'm a good agent. I know, a lot of people talk about me. They think I'm a waste of space. Agent Sitwell-"

"Agent Sitwell has a yard stick up his ass. Don't worry about him." Phil pulled out two pairs of binoculars and handed one of them to Darcy. He also pulled out a bag of M&M's. "Tonight we observe and eat candy. Some?" He offered her the bag, which Darcy happily took.

They sat in the car silently for about a half hour, until Darcy couldn't stand the silence anymore. "Are we allowed to talk?" she asked, looking over at Phil.

He dropped his binoculars and chuckled. "Of course. What do you want to talk about?"

Darcy took a few more M&M's out of the bag. "I don't know, I just hate sitting here in silence." She looked down into the forest again. Nothing out of the ordinary was happening. No noises; no lights; absolutely nothing. She looked back at Phil. "We could ask each other questions ... Like, get to know each other questions."

"Okay. One rule though. Don't ask any questions that you're not willing to answer yourself," he said as he scooted in his seat to make him a bit more comfortable. He picked up his binoculars and looked out over the forest again.

"Hey, you know me ... There is no question that I won't answer. No topic is too taboo," Darcy grinned.

"Yeah, that scares me," Phil smirked. "Ask away."

Darcy giggled inwardly. There were so many things she could start out asking him, but decided she's start off with innocent things, maybe if he seemed into it, she'd throw something not so innocent in there. She bit her lip softly, thinking of what to ask him first. "Favorite color? And it better not be black."

"Red," he said looking over at her. "You?"

"Pink, I'm one girly-girl."

"I figured as much. Hello Kitty kinda gives it away," he glanced over and his lip twitched in a smile. "Favorite type of music?"

"I like everything,"

"That's not a good answer," he said and shook his head.

"Everything but country music. I mean, I really do like a lot of different types of music. You know I do. You've seen my iPod playlists. What about you?" Darcy peeked through her binoculars again.

"Same," he replied.

Darcy snorted. "And you said my answer wasn't good enough? Yours is the same!" She laughed and shook her head. Innocent questions went back and forth between the two of them for a bit until Darcy was ready to bump it up a notch. "When is the last time you were in a relationship?" She bit her lip, hoping that it wasn't too much of a personal question.

There was a long moment of silence from Phil. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and then sighed softly. "It's ... been  _awhile_ ," he said at last.

"Like? How long?" Darcy asked, hoping she wasn't pushing too much. She was having fun and didn't want to ruin the game.

Another long pause. He rubbed his chin, looking straight ahead. "It's ... going on eight years-"

"Oh shit! ... Oh ... sorry," Darcy blurted out. She chewed on her lip for a moment, trying to think of something to say. "Like ... a serious relationship or ... like ... any relationship?"

Phil chuckled. "It's fine, Darcy. I haven't been in any sort of relationship in almost eight years. My last girlfriend was a serious one, and after we broke up, I just never dated. I focused more on work. What about you?"

"Serious relationship was two years ago. Last relationship I had ended about three months ago. We only dated for two months. He was kind of a dick," she chuckled. She couldn't believe Phil hadn't been with anyone in years. Not even on a date. "So ... do you have like serious self-control or do you ..." She was trying to search for the right term. She had no idea why she was even bringing this up.

"Jerk off?"

Darcy almost choked on a mouthful of M&M's. She had to turn away from him so she could focus on breathing. No way in hell did she expect those words out of Phil's mouth. "I mean ... I was trying to think of a better phrase to use!" she laughed nervously, finally turning back to face him. She was so thankful for the darkness, because her cheeks were on fire.

Phil chuckled. "No need to beat around the bush, I knew what you really wanted to say. I figured our innocent little game was going to make it to the gutter at some point," he said shaking his head. "Darcy, I'm a 45 year old male who hasn't been on a date in eight years. I'm not a S.H.I.E.L.D android like people think I am," he shook his head and grabbed a handful of candy. He didn't exactly answer her question, but gave her enough information to figure it out for herself. "You?"

"Me?" Darcy asked a bit stunned.

"Yep. You said no question was taboo, if I remember correctly."

Darcy squirmed in her seat. She did say that, but now she really wished she hadn't. If she was going to answer him though, she wanted to do it like she didn't care. Like, she could talk about anything without getting embarrassed. "... I mean, I own a vibrator."

"Did you bring it with you?" he asked nonchalantly.

"You mean, like, do I have it with me ... right now?" Darcy asked nervously.

Phil smirked. "Just in general ..." It was a bold thing to ask but he was feeling pretty bold at the moment.

Fuck, how was she supposed to answer that? Her cheeks were really burning up now; not because she was embarrassed, but because she was getting really turned on. They were totally have an intimate sexual conversation about each other. "... Yes?" she squeaked out in more of a question than an answer. Her heart pounded as she waited for him to respond.

"Have you used it yet? Maybe ... on ...  _your_  ...  _aching_..." he said in a hushed voice, drawing out every word slowly, looking directly into her eyes. Then he grinned.  _"Neck?"_

"My neck?!" Darcy narrowed her eyes at him and pursed her lips together. "You're totally messing with me, aren't you? Seeing how much info I'll tell you?"

Phil laughed. "I'm just asking questions, but thanks for answering so freely," he looked through his binoculars with a grin on his face.

"You are terrible person, Phil Coulson. Goddamn you!" Darcy giggled. She glanced over at him as he was gazing out into the forest, scanning for something out of the ordinary. She made up her mind; he was perfect. Gorgeous; badass; sweet; funny; the list went on and on. He was the total package and she wanted him.  _All of him._ The only thing was; did he want her the same way or was he just looking at her as a friend, just like she and Clint were? Because she was totally not okay with that. She wanted to be Phil's girl. He hadn't been in a relationship in years and she wanted to change that.

"No change in forest activities," Phil said, setting down the binoculars in his lap. He could feel Darcy's eyes on him but he couldn't look at her. He hoped hadn't made her uncomfortable by joking around with her.

"Good," Darcy said with a smile. She hoped that there wouldn't be any activity for a while, because she was really just enjoying sitting here talking to Phil. "Have you ever  _had_  a girl in here?" she blurted out.

Phil looked over. "In my car?"

Darcy pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yeah."

"You're the first girl that's ever been in my car," Phil answered. "That should answer your question. Or both your questions ... I suppose  _'had a girl in my car'_  could be taken in different ways."

Darcy grinned, happy to hear that answer. "It's a really hot car."

Phil smirked. "You like it?"

"Totally. I'm kinda into all that retro stuff. I'm obsessed with pin up girls."

"You look like a pin up girl." She definitely had the body like one. He wasn't going to say that to her though, but he was totally thinking it.

Darcy grinned widely. "That's a really sweet compliment. You into pin up girls?"

"Isn't everyone?" He left his answer very vague but smiled.

Darcy studied his face; he had such strong features and those gorgeous blue eyes. She could totally get lost for hours; looking into those eyes. "Have you had your nose broken before?"

Phil chuckled. "How can you tell?"

Darcy giggled. "It's crooked."

"You into the nose?" He couldn't help but ask. He was trying not to sound flirty but it was really hard to hold back any longer.

"It's cute," Darcy smirked, tucking another strand of stray hair behind her ear. He was sort of being flirty with her, and she was totally into it.

"You think so?" he grinned. "It's always kind of bothered-" He stopped suddenly dropped the binoculars on the floor, kicking them under the seat. He grabbed Darcy's off her lap and did the same thing.

"What?" Darcy knitted her eyebrows together. "What's going-" Before she got to ask, Phil pulled her close to him and pressed his lips to hers.

Phil tangled his hands in her hair, pressing his mouth on hers, and kissed her softly. He could feel her heart pounding through her shirt, and he knew his was doing the same thing. He cupped the back of her neck with his hand and pressed his mouth a little harder on hers; sucking gently on her bottom lip. She responded back with the same fervor that he was showing her. Her arms wrapped around him, locking around him tightly. Then she opened her mouth slightly and slid her tongue across his lips.

 _"... Mmm ..."_  Darcy moaned as Phil opened his mouth slightly and let her in. Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to pop out of her chest. She felt his tongue slid across hers and she moaned again. God, he was so  _fucking_  good at kissing. Her whole body felt like jelly in his arms, and at any second she felt like she'd just melt into a big puddle. She played with baby hairs on the back of his neck; he must have liked that because she felt him shudder slightly and let out an almost inaudible moan. " _... Mmm ... Phil ... god ..."_ She didn't have any idea if she was even making actual sentences. Everything he was doing to her was making her mind cloudy and her body ache.

Her mind was spinning out of control; she wanted him so badly right now. She broke away from his lips and moved to his ear, nibbling on it in between whispers. She wanted to take his hand and slip it into her jeans, so that he knew exactly what he was doing to her. "... I'm so hot for you ... so  _fucking ..._   _wet_  for y-"

"Good evening, folks." A voice called from the side of the car. A light shining right in Darcy's face.

Phil pulled away from Darcy and smiled sheepishly. "Sheriff Dunham," he said with a nod, putting his hand up slightly to block the light coming from his flashlight.

"Sorry 'bout that," Dunham said as he pointed the flashlight out of their faces. "It's a little late to be out here. Two in the morning is kinda past bedtime, eh? Plus, this road is closed. There's a sign back there at the bottom of the hill."

"Oh?" Phil questioned, he was playing stupid. "I guess we didn't see it."

Dunham waved his hand. "Yeah, probably got covered up with weeds and stuff again. This is kind of a dangerous road to be on. Especially at night. And I'm a bit surprised you'd take this fine automobile up here. Nice car by the way."

Phil nodded. "Thanks," he said giving Darcy a small glance.

Dunham chuckled. "So ... you found the make out point." He shook his head and laughed again. "I'm constantly chasing kids outta here. I'm just surprised to find you guys up here. Did Johnny tell you about this spot?"

Phil nodded. "Yeah, he said it had a nice view of the woods. It's beautiful up here ... Guess Darcy and I just got caught up in the moment."

Dunham put his hand up. "No need to apologize. Just be careful on the road on the way down. Have a good night," he said and then looked at Darcy. "Night ma'am." He tipped his hat to her and walked off to the side as soon as Phil started up the car.

Phil drove away slowly, down the hill and finally back onto the main road. "Well, we got busted, huh?" he smirked, looking over at Darcy. "Sorry about being so grabby. I heard someone coming through the woods and thought kissing would be the best cover for us at the moment."

"... Oh ... Yeah that was cool," Darcy tried to hide her disappointment. She thought the kiss was a real kiss. She had kissed him for real; she fucking told him she was  _hot and wet_ for him. But the kiss to him wasn't real; just a cover, so they wouldn't get caught snooping. She felt like a big fucking idiot. "I'm so stupid ... _fucking_  stupid little girl ..." she thought to herself, looking out the side of the car. She couldn't even face Phil at the moment.

"Dunham wasn't in a car. He didn't even have one parked at the bottom of the hill," Darcy said at last. "So why was he just wandering around there on foot at two a.m?"

"I know. Weird right? Another mystery we need to look into." He looked over at Darcy; she was still staring out the passenger side of the car. He knew that she was bothered by something ... most likely the kiss. Maybe he had kissed her too passionately? He'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the kiss, but he meant it more as a cover than something romantic between them. God, and she told him she was wet for him. Just thinking about that, sent a jolt of electricity straight through him. The kiss was real for her. He wanted it to be real for him too, but he was scared. "Darcy ..."

"Yep."

He didn't even know what he was going to say. "It was a cover. It was the first thing that popped into my head."

"It was kind of a douchey thing to do!" she snapped. "I thought ... I mean ... I told you ... You could have let me know what plan was ... Instead of letting me think ..." Her voice trailed off.

He felt like an asshole. "I didn't-"

She cut him off again. "I thought we had something going between us. Not just the kiss but the conversation before, the joking ... the flirting...  _The fucking porch swing!_ " She still couldn't look over at him.

"We're on a S.H.I.E.L.D assignment, Darcy. We can't ..." He really did sound like a douche now.

"Well, apparently I'm not as good as of an agent as I hoped I was!" she snapped again. "I can't see when I'm being played!"

This conversation was not going good at all. Phil was fighting with his feelings. He wanted Darcy, but he also knew that they were on a work assignment and this ... could not happen between them. He could not date a junior agent, there were rules about that. Both of them could get in big trouble if they were found out. "I'm sorry if ... I led you on..." He closed his eyes, those were not the words he wanted to say, but they were the right words. He pulled the car into the drive way and before he even had the chance to say anything, Darcy hopped out and walked quickly up to the house.

He followed quickly behind her, trying to think of something to say. "I'm sorry-"

"Stop  _fucking_ saying that you're  _fucking_  sorry, Phil!" She spun around angrily at him. "Get the goddamn door open so I can go to bed!"

"... Okay," he said in a hushed whisper, as he pulled the keys out of his pocket. His hands shook slightly as he tried to unlocked the door. Darcy was so pissed at him, and nothing he could do or say could make the situation better. The door finally popped open and she pushed past him, stomping up the stairs.

He waited at the bottom of the steps until he heard her door shut. Phil leaned up against the wall and closed his eyes, wishing that he could take back the entire evening. He'd do everything differently; he wouldn't flirt or kiss her or do anything that would cross the line with S.H.I.E.L.D regulations. If he would have kept his and Darcy's relationship professional, things have would not gotten to this point. It was so hard now that he knew that Darcy had feelings for him (or used to have feelings for him). Slowly he walked up the stairs, stopping next to her room. He put his ear next to her door, and could hear her faint soft sobs. She was crying because he had hurt her. She thought that he was just stringing her along with no intentions.

Phil inhaled and closed his eyes. He was always the one in the relationship that got hurt; being the one doing the hurting was new to him. It made him feel like shit. He wanted nothing more than to go into her room, take her in his arms, kiss away her tears, and tell her that he wanted her just as much as she did him.

He sighed softly as he walked into his room; shutting the door behind him.

Tonight was going to be another sleepless night.


	7. Phil Coulson is a Jerk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love it? Don't love it? Let me know with a comment :) I love to hear from you!! :)

Darcy got up super early the next morning, she wanted to be out of the house before Phil woke up or emerged from his room. Last night had been one of the most horrible nights of her life. Never before had she felt so embarrassed ... so played in her entire life. She was furious at Phil but she was also pissed at herself for letting her emotions get in the way of a work mission. Her first big mission and she fell for the senior agent. It didn't help that he was being 'Mr. Flirty' with her either; Darcy felt like she had been led on. He had kissed her with so much passion, his hands were tangled in her hair, and he put his  _fucking_  tongue in her mouth. Why the hell would he kiss her like that if it was only to cover up what they were really up to? Dunham didn't show up until about a minute after they started kissing. He made it very clear to her though, that the kiss was just a cover. And he totally admitted that he had led her on.

Phil Coulson was a jerk.

Darcy quickened her pace walking down the road towards the school. Third day of art camp today - Darcy didn't want to be there. She was tired and in a foul mood; putting up with shit from brats and  _'_ Stepford whack jobs' was going to send her over the edge. Of course, hanging out with Agent Douchebag was probably going to be worse. She wished Clint was here, he would make everything better. Probably not, but at least he'd try to. She exhaled deeply, she knew that she had to go forward with the mission. She would have to continue to be Mrs. Darcy Coulson but she had no intentions on being friendly with Phil while they were alone. She'd work with him on a professional level, and that was it.

Darcy walked into the school and into the classroom. The kids were running around like little maniacs, as usual. "I'm here," Darcy said walking over to Barbara and Melissa.

"Oh, honey, you look like you didn't get much sleep," Barbara said with a little pout.

Melissa nodded. "Is everything alright? I hope you and Phil didn't get into a fight."

Darcy put on a fake smile. "No, everything is fine," she said. She wondered why that would be the first thing that popped into Melissa's head.

"Oh, good! He just seems like the biggest sweetheart," she smiled, grabbing a canister of popsicle sticks.

Darcy wanted to roll her eyes. If Melissa wanted to have Phil, she could. They probably would be great for each other. Probably make really cute babies too. Darcy wanted to gag at that thought. "What craft are we doing today?" She asked, putting on a paint smock.

"We're making popsicle houses and then painting them! Doesn't that sound cute?!" Barbara giggled.

"Adorable," Darcy mumbled. She spotted Annie sitting by herself in her usual spot. Darcy smile and waved. At least as soon as class started she could disappear back there for a little while and talk to her. Annie never said much, but she liked having Darcy around her.

"Which reminds me," Barbara grinned. "Ken and I are having a dinner party on Saturday. You and Phil are invited. Just bring your specialty to share with everyone. I'm making a pot roast, and Melissa is bringing a cake."

"Oh, that would be wonderful! I'm sure Phil will be thrilled," Darcy tried to make up some enthusiasm. She didn't really want to go to a dinner party but it was another opportunity to snoop around. She and Phil had been here over two weeks and hadn't really figured anything out about the town; other than the people here were weird. Maybe that was it; this town just had weird people. "We'll be there!"

"Great! 7 p.m on the dot! Don't be late!" Barbara smiled and then walked away to pass out sticks to the kids.

"So how is Phil's book coming along?" Melissa asked, as she squirted paint into little cups.

"He has a rough draft of the plot and now he's on to getting character ideas," Darcy replied. She hated how Melissa said Phil's name; she made it sound like she wanted to devour him.

"Well, you tell him he's more than welcome to base a character off me. I would love to be in his book," Melissa practically purred.

"And in his pants ..." Darcy thought bitterly. "Oh, I'm sure he'd love to base someone off you. You and him will have to chat at the dinner party,"

"Oh, I plan on it," she smiled as she walked away.

Darcy could feel her blood boil. For being upset at Phil for acting like an asshole, she sure was getting jealous. Darcy huffed out a big breath and headed back to the table with Annie. She smiled at the little girl and sat down across from her. "Hi, Annie."

"Good morning, Mrs. Coulson," Annie smiled shyly as she spun her bottle of glue around on the table. "I'm not very good a building things. My house is not going to be pretty at all." She wrinkled her nose, looking down at the pile of wooden sticks.

"Hey, I'm not good either but between you and me, we are going to make one awesome house. We'll paint it and put glitter and stickers on it, and everyone will be super jealous!" Darcy smiled, as she began to fit the sticks together.

Annie laughed. "Okay. Can we paint it pink?"

"You bet your ass ... I mean, butt! You bet your  _butt_  we can!" Darcy said. She closed her eyes for a moment. Last thing she wanted right now was to have Barbara or Melissa scold her on using bad language. They'd probably make her wash her mouth of with soap.

Annie giggled again and then started to brush glue onto the sticks. Darcy had to get a few times to help other kids but she made sure she always came back to Annie. "Wow, that is one awesome house!" Darcy smiled, as she looked at the lopsided popsicle house. Annie had painted it pink and was not adding purple glitter to it.

"It looks bad." Annie frowned and set her paint brush down. "Look at the roof."

"Well," Darcy said, sitting down again. "I think it's cute. I bet fairies would use it as a hideout in the woods!" Darcy smiled.

The mere mention of the woods made Annie turn white as a sheet. She shook her head over and over. "Not the woods ..."

"Annie are you okay?" Darcy asked, placing her hands on the little girl's.

Annie hushed her voice. "Never go into the woods. Promise me, Mrs. Coulson, never go into the woods ..."

"What's in the woods, Annie?" Darcy whispered, making sure Barbara and Melissa weren't staring at them.

"... People that go into the woods ... Some times they don't come back," Annie whispered, shaking slightly. "There's a monster in the woods ..."

Okay now, Darcy felt like this mission was getting interesting. Finally something was happening. "A monster? Annie, what do you know?" Darcy asked.

Just then the bell rang. "Okay, kids! Let's clean up! Mrs. Coulson can you collect the paint trays?" Melissa yelled over all the chatter in the room.

Darcy looked at Annie, and then stood up. Damn it, she really wanted to talk to Annie some more. Find out what else she knew about this 'monster.' "Maybe we can talk later?"

"No. I don't want to talk about that anymore," Annie shook her head. She looked away from Darcy and started to clean up.

"Okay, have a good weekend, Annie." Darcy looked at her for a minute; whatever she knew, it scared her. Darcy sighed and walked away to collect the trays from the kids. When she got back home, she knew she needed to tell Phil about all this. She wasn't looking forward to speaking with him, but knew she had to. She needed to push whatever anger she had for him to the side for now.

 

* * *

 

Phil could hardly get any work done today. He had been trying to type up a report to send into Fury all day. He'd get half way done and then he'd delete it and start over. He had made a pot of coffee but forgot to drink it. Darcy had left super early this morning; he was awake in his room when he heard her get up. He wanted to go talk to her but figured she wouldn't want anything to do with him that earlier in the morning. He just hoped that when she came home that maybe they could talk about what happened last night. He sighed and started typing again but stopped when he heard the front door open.

He heard Darcy coming up the stairs and then a knock at his door. "Phil," she said in a voice that was more flat than her usual bubbly voice.

"Come in," he said, his heart began to beat harder. "Hey," he smiled at her when she walked in the door.

Darcy didn't smile; instead she walked over to the futon and sat down on it. "That girl, Annie, that I told you about. Well, I talk to her today and when I mentioned the woods. She went all pale and got spooked. She said that people that go into the woods, sometimes don't come out."

Phil nodded. "There have been several disappearance cases over the last few years. No bodies where ever found. We should start looking into the their files and see if we can piece together anything. Did she say anything else?"

"She said that there is a monster in the woods. She wouldn't elaborate, and said she wouldn't talk about anything else," Darcy said looking around Phil's bland room. Her room was so comfy and his was just plain and stale looking, like a prison.

"A monster? Let's go over the files again and start looking for more clues," he nodded. Things were certainly strange in this town, and they were getting stranger by the minute. He smiled again. "Good work, Darce."

"Thanks," she said blandly as she got up and headed to the door. She stopped and turned around. "Oh, yeah. We have a dinner party at Ken and Barbie's on Saturday." She turned back to the door to walk out.

"Sounds fun," Phil said quickly. "Darcy, can we talk?"

"I'm exhausted, Phil. Maybe later," she said as she walked out and headed into her room.

The talk never happened. Not that night. Not the next day. Or the day after that.

 

* * *

 

It was Saturday afternoon, and Darcy was relieved that she survived the first week of bratty child art camp. One more week of that shit and she'd free! Of course, she was still stuck in this craphole town for another month. If she and Phil couldn't solve this case before then, S.H.I.E.L.D was going to pull them back and stamp a big 'fail' on the assignment. Darcy certainly didn't want that to happen, not on her first mission. She had spent the last couple of days in her room, reading over the files on the town, hoping to find a clue of some sort. She had barely talked to Phil at all unless it was to ask him a question about the case. He'd answer her and she'd head back to her room before he had the chance to start up a conversation. However, tonight, she and he would have to act like an in love married couple at the dinner party. Darcy groaned at the thought of having to sit through a long drawn out evening with Ken, Barbie, and their weirdo friends. She closed the file she was reading and headed down stairs to the kitchen.

Darcy frowned, looking up at the clock. She needed to head downstairs and starting preparing the broccoli quiche she was planning on bringing to the dinner party. One problem though. Phil was down there sitting on the couch. He was probably going to try and talk to her about the other night. She had been trying to avoid the subject and him for as long as she could. Maybe if she was lucky, he'd head out into town or close himself up in his room until it was time to go.

"I gotta get the Quiche made for tonight," she said as she came down the stairs.

Phil looked up from the newspaper and nodded. "Quiché? What kind?" Darcy was an excellent cook, every thing she made tasted like it was from a five star restaurant. Though the last few days, she hadn't cooked anything for him. He had to make his own food, which consisted of several soggy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches; cereal; and Hot Pockets. His stomach growled at the thought of Quiche.

"Broccoli and cheddar," she said blowing past him and into the kitchen.

"Yum," he said getting up from the couch and leaning up against the kitchen door frame. He watched her get bowls and ingredients out for several minutes before he spoke again. "Would you like any help? I'm not much of a chef, but I can crack eggs."

Darcy shrugged. "If you want to." She grabbed the carton of eggs and slid them over to him, then turned away quickly. She actually fantasized about her and Phil cooking together. She would teach him how to make a proper Italian dinner. She'd make her famous sauce, which she'd deliberately get a little on the end of his nose, and then kiss it off. Things would progress from there and by the end of it, he'd make love to her on the kitchen table. It was a cliché fantasy, but it was her fantasy. Well, it  _was_  her fantasy. Darcy began to chop the broccoli and dump it into a bowl, glancing ever so often at Phil as he broke the eggs.

"Do you have a fork or something over there?" he asked.

She raised her eyebrow. "What for?"

"To fish the shells out," he looked over at her, smiling sheepishly.

Darcy rolled her eyes and handed him a fork. "Seriously? Three eggs in and you got shells in it? You had better get them all out. I cannot serve a crunchy-egg shell-quiche to them ... Even though it sounds rather tempting."

"You can blame your incompetent husband," he grinned. When she didn't smile back or say anything he went back to fishing shells. Minutes of silence went by, and as each one passed, Phil got more and more anxious. "I'm sorry."

"I don't want to talk about this right now, Phil," she said as she took the eggs away from Phil and began to whip them.

"I think we do, Junior Agent Lewis."

Now he was pulling rank on her. That wasn't fair.

"Okay fine,  _Agent Coulson_." She poured the egg mixture into the pan and then turned to look at him, crossing her arms.

"Darcy, I don't want to have to discuss this as agent to agent. I rather you and I talk about it as friends ... If we are friends ...still." He took a step closer to Darcy, but kept his distance.

"Okay, say what you need to, Phil. I have to start getting ready for tonight." She slid the Quiche into the oven and set the timer.

His stomach began to knot up. He had been practicing for days on what he was going to say to her, but now that he was in front of her, he had forgotten everything. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or embarrass you in anyway. I'm sorry I didn't give you some warning before kissing you."

She shrugged. "I'm over it. I know the safety of the mission comes first." She started to walk out.

"You come first, Darcy," he said quickly. She turned around to face him, a blank look on her face. "I never wanted to hurt you."

"I thought you wanted to kiss me when we were on the porch swing," she said looking down at the ceramic tiled floor.

"I did. I was going to if the swing hadn't broke," he confessed.

She looked up meeting his gaze. "And the kiss in the car didn't mean anything then?"

"It was a very nice kiss. I'm not going to deny that I wasn't into it," he looked down at the ground now. "I wouldn't have kissed just anyone like that. There's rules though ... S.H.I.E.L.D has strict rules on relationships with other agents. We could both get into a lot of trouble. You're becoming a remarkable agent, Darcy. I can see it just within the short time we've been on assignment. I don't want risk your career, because I know how much you want to be here."

She was touched. He hadn't mentioned anything about his own career, which Darcy knew that he would be likely let go from S.H.I.E.L.D (what that entailed, she didn't know ... she didn't want to know either ... he'd probably have his mind wiped clear because of all top secret stuff he knew). He did care for her, really care for her but he was being the responsible agent and pushing his personal feelings to the back so that she wouldn't fuck up her career. Phil Coulson saw in her what many agents at S.H.I.E.L.D didn't. She felt horrible for everything she had perviously thought about him. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"You didn't do anything Darcy," Phil smiled softly.

"For yelling at you. I treated you like an asshole."

"I was an asshole. I could have ...  _should have_  went about things in a different way," he chuckled softly.

'You're a good guy, Phil Coulson."

"So ... am I out of the dog house?" he asked with a smirk on his face.

Darcy raised her eyebrow. "Well, we'll see how that Quiche turns out." She smirked and then walked out of the kitchen, heading upstairs to take a shower.

 

* * *

 

Darcy took a quick shower, threw on some shorts and a t-shirt and then headed to the kitchen to pull the Quiche out of the oven. She set on the counter and then ran back upstairs to get dressed. The bathroom door was cracked open just slightly and she could see Phil leaning over the sink, shaving his five 'o' clock scruff off his face. He was bare chested with a towel wrapped around his waist. She spent a couple of moments staring, hoping that she could will the towel to fall off.

"You need something, Darcy?" Phil said poking his head out of the bathroom.

"Uh ... yeah ... I mean no ...nope, I'm good," she ducked into her room before he hand the chance to see her cheeks turning scarlet. Things were easier when she was mad at him. Now they were complicated again. Even more complicated now that she knew that he sort of had ... or did have some feelings for her, but wasn't going to act on them because of the risk of getting them in trouble. Darcy sighed as she stripped off her t-shirt and shorts, leaving her in her black lacy undergarments. Quickly she dried her hair and put on some black eyeliner, a few coats of mascara, and a bright pink lip gloss. She gave a sultry look in the mirror; imagining how Phil would react to seeing her like this. Would he blush and look away or would he grab her and smother her with kisses? She hoped it would be the latter but knew it would be more something like the first.

Walking over to the closet, she grabbed the short teal dress from the hanger and slipped it on. She had bought this dress for some reason a long time ago but never had worn it until now. Of course it was one of those with a damn zipper in the back, and she struggled to pull it up. She danced around the room with her arm behind her back, tugging at the zip. "C'mon ..." she muttered. She tripped over her overnight bag and smacked the lamp off the nightstand. " _... fuck ..._ "

"Darce? It's almost time to go," Phil's voice called from the other side of the door. "You okay in there?"

"I'm fine. I just tripped over my bag and knocked the lamp off the table," she answered. She swore she heard him chuckle softly. "What time is it?"

"6:40," he answered.

 _"Fuck."_  That was not the answer she wanted to hear. "Alright, I'll be down in a minute," she groaned.

"Are you sure, you're okay?"

"Yep," she grunted, pulling at the zipper. She managed to get it up a couple of inches. How did she get it up when she tried it on at the store? Oh yeah ... the sales woman helped her. She heard Phil step away from the door. "Actually ... I do need some help." Either he helped her zip up or they were going to be super late to the party.

The door creaked open. "What can I ..." Phil's voice trailed off at the sight of Darcy standing there with her dress hanging open in the back. He knew why he was called in there now. It wasn't the first dress he zipped up (or down) but the thought of doing it to Darcy sent some major chills through his body.

"Can you help me get this fucking thing up? We are going to be late to the party, and I don't want to be scolded by Barbara. She said seven sharp, and she meant it." Darcy said looking over her shoulder to Phil.

"Sure," he said taking the zipper in his fingers and slowly started to zip it up.

Darcy closed her eyes, wishing so much that he was going the other way with it. There was complete silence in the room, except for the sound of the zipper and the shallow breaths of her and Phil. "Thanks," she whispered.

"Do you want the necklace on too?" he asked, pointing at the delicate gold chain on the dresser.

"Yes ..." Darcy said as she watched him in the mirror.

Phil picked up the necklace and placed it around Darcy's neck. She moved her hair out of the way and he fumbled with the clasp for a bit. "There," he said as he looked up and caught Darcy's eyes in the mirror. "Beautiful," he whispered.

Was it so bad that all Darcy wanted to do was turn around, knock Phil to the bed and have her way with him? Tear his shirt open and lick his chest? God, if they had more time she probably would, and it wasn't helping that it looked like he was fighting the same urges. "I'll go down and get the Quiche wrapped up. You excited for the party?" she asked, trying to get her mind out of gutter alley.

He chuckled. "Yeah, I can't wait. I'm more excited for some your delicious food though."

"Melissa is really excited to see you tonight," Darcy said as she walked over to the door. "I think she thinks she has a chance with you. Or at least she thinks she's going to get you into bed with her."

Phil smirked. "I'm a happily married man.  _Very_  happily married."

"Good," she looked back at him. "You think 'Fictional Phil and Darcy' do it a lot?" She couldn't help to ask.

"Bit of a random question," he chuckled as he followed her out of the room.

"Well, I'm sure it'll be a question Ken will ask tonight at the dinner table. I want to make sure we're on the same page," she said laughing. "He'll probably want to know our favorite position as well," she joked.

"Hmmm, bent over my desk while I take you from behind?"

 _Oh fuck._ Was that his secret cliché fantasy? Because Darcy was totally into that. In fact, it just became her new favorite image. "Wow, wasn't expecting that answer," she squeaked out, walking into the kitchen.

"Well, author Phil is a creative guy," he said as he watched her slip her heels on.

"How do I look?" Darcy asked, spinning around once for him.

" _Rawr,"_  Phil growled and gave her a goofy grin.

"Did you just 'rawr' at me?" Darcy giggled, picking up the Quiche. He was back to being his adorable-self. Even though there probably was no chance they'd end up together, she was still happy to have 'Flirty Phil' back.

"I got a hot wife, what else can I say?"

Darcy smiled at him. Fuck the party. Darcy wanted to stay here and have sexy times with Agent Coulson. Hell, she'd even feed him the Quiche in bed if he wanted it. Anything as long as she and he were alone together. "We better get going, Agent."


	8. Dinner Party from Hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love it? Don't love it? Let me know with a comment :)

"You sure you don't want to drive over?" Phil asked as he and Darcy walked through the grass of their side yard.

"Nah, their house is just through that tree line, right?" Darcy said, as she carefully walked in her heels. Heels were not her thing; she liked her flip-flops, Converse sneakers, or her trusty boots. However, none of those would have matched her outfit very well. Heels did make her legs look long and sexy, which she loved (and apparently Phil did as well, because Darcy saw him take several glances at them). Phil was dressed in black pants and a light blue button up with a tie; he looked closer to his 'agent look' than anything else he had worn so far on the assignment. Darcy forgot how much she liked him in a work suit.

"It'll probably be dark when we leave. Will you be scared to walk through the woods?" he smirked.

Darcy rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm lucky to have such a brave, strong husband to fight off any creepers," she said with a lack of enthusiasm. "I got my taser with me," she said with a smirk.

"Where you hiding that?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Wouldn't you like to know."  She gave him a flirty wink.

"Mmm ..." he said with a grin as they entered the wooded area that separated their house from the Cedar's. The air seemed warmer in here despite the fact that it was a shaded area. Phil pulled his phone out of his pocket and began scanning the area.

"What is that like the iPhone 600 s, or something?" she said looking over at him.

"You mean to tell me that your phone hasn't been upgraded yet?" he asked, pressing a couple of buttons. "The air is off in here ..." he muttered.

"Upgraded phone? Are you kidding me, I'm lucky they even let me have a regular phone back at HQ," she whispered. "It does feel pretty gross. Hot and -"

"Moist?" Phil said and then looked down at the phone when it beeped.

"Moist. Moist is like the most disgusting word ever." Darcy said as she looked at the screen on the phone." What does all that mean?"

He shook his head. "Not sure yet. I'm going to send it to the labs when we get back home. I'm not much of a scientist," he replied. Phil put the phone back in his pocket just as they walked out of the woods and into the yard of Ken and Barbie.

"Well, their house is nicer than ours, that's for sure," Darcy said, looking up at the large log cabin. She could see a rose garden and a swimming pool in the backyard. "I want to go swimming," she pouted as they walked up to the door and rang the bell.

"Maybe you can ask-" Phil started to say just as the door flew open.

"I'm so happy you're here! And on time too! Come in, Come in!" Barbara said in her usual overly excited voice. "Whatever you brought smells delish!"

Darcy smiled. "It's broccoli cheddar quiche," she said handing the dish over to Barbara.

"Oh ...  _broccoli?_ " She sounded disappointed. "Ken and I really don't like broccoli but I'm sure someone will eat it. Take your shoes off and join everyone straight through those doors there." She gave Darcy a smile and turned away to the kitchen.

"Da fuck?" Darcy whispered, her eyes narrowed and she shook her head. She was beyond pissed that Barbara said that about her dish she brought. Who says shit like that to a person's face?

Phil slipped his shoes off and shrugged. "More for me then." He smiled and placed his hand on Darcy so she wouldn't fall as she took her shoes off. "Cute toes."

Darcy chuckled softly and looked up at him. "Do you have a secret foot fetish?" she whispered, wiggling her perfectly pink polished toes.

He grinned but didn't answer the question. "We better head in," he said, motioning for her to go ahead of him.

"Yay," she rolled her eyes. Her mind was still stuck on his sexual kinks that he may or may not have. She was really hoping that they were true ... like really true. She smiled poking her head into the living room where several people were sitting around drinking wine and picking at fruit and cheese plate. "Hello," she said walking in the room with Phil close behind her.

"The Coulsons!" Ken said, getting up to shake Phil's hand. He smiled and Darcy, giving her a once over with his eyes. "Come in and get some wine, and I'll introduce you to everyone."

Phil poured a glass of wine for Darcy and then himself. They walked over to the couch and sat down. "Lovely home you have, Ken." He took a sip of wine and his eyes scanned the room, taking anything in that may seem out of the ordinary.

"Thank you. It's our little love nest." He said, putting his arm around Barbara. "Well, this is Jack Martin and his wife, Lindsey. And you already know Melissa."

Darcy's eyes flicked over to Melissa as she walked into the room. Her red hair was in loose curls and she was wearing a black strapless dress, that barely covered her top or bottom. Darcy wanted to snort, but instead she took a sip of wine and looked over at Phil. She swore that he just checked Melissa out. That did not sit well with Darcy at all. "Are you, Annie Martin's parents?" Darcy said turning back to the other couple. Phil could ogle Melissa all he wanted.

Jack nodded his head. "We are. Annie said how much she likes art camp."

"She's a bit shy, but she's very fond of you," Lindsey said with a smile.

"She's a great girl. And she's much better at crafts than I am," Darcy said with a smile. This was good, maybe now she could get more clues on what the hell is up with the woods and the monster that Annie spoke about. "So what do you do Jack?" she asked.

"I own the logging business," he took a sip of wine.

Interesting. Darcy nodded, and then nudged Phil, who was laughing about something with Melissa. "Sweetheart, Jack owns the logging company. Isn't that interesting?" she gave Phil smile. She noticed Melissa had scooted much closer to Phil than she was before. She really wasn't wasting any time, was she?

"Really?" Phil turned away from Melissa and looked over at Jack. "You must be one of those outdoorsy people," he laughed.

Jack nodded. "No better place in the world than out in the woods. I bet a writer from Seattle would have a hard time understanding that," he joked.

"Hey, now ... play nice boys," Melissa chimed in. Everyone else except for Darcy laughed.

Darcy wanted to punch her in the face. Phil could sense it too, because he slipped his arm around her shoulder and gave it a tiny squeeze.

"You should come down and experience how it is to do some real work, Phil," Jack smirked.

"Logging?" Phil asked.

"Yeah, get out of your cushy office and help us out," Jack answered.

Phil nodded. "Sounds great. Maybe I'll get some ideas for my book as well. When do you want me there?"

"How about Monday morning at 6:30?" Jack said, taking a sip of wine. "Or is that too early for you?"

Phil smirked. "Nope, not too early at all."

"Dinner's ready," Barbara said as she floated back into the living room. "And if you don't mind me tooting my own horn ... my pot roast looks amazing!" she giggled and then floated off into the dining room. Everyone stood up and followed her out, except for Phil and Darcy who stayed behind for just a moment.

"Jack has no idea," Darcy whispered looking at Phil.

"About what?" Phil asked.

"That Phil Coulson is a badass, who could probably kill him with a bobby pin. What's with all the taunting? I mean, god, Jack is a jackass." Darcy stood up and shook her head. "This whole party is just weird. And what the hell is up with Miss Tits? A minute more and she'd probably be sitting on your lap. I don't like how she looks at you."

Phil chuckled. "A bit protective of your man?"

Darcy blushed. She did sort of sound like a crazy girlfriend. "I mean ... It's just weird how I'm like two inches away from you and she's making a move. It's rather bold of her."

"You two making out in here or what? Dinner's ready!" Ken called from the doorway, he smiled and then walked back to the dining room.

"On our way," Phil answered. He looked back at Darcy.

"You think there'll be an orgy later?" Darcy whispered as they both headed towards the dining room.

"I hope we're long gone by then," Phil replied with a slight chuckle.

* * *

Everyone was already sitting around the table when Darcy and Phil walked in. The table had been set with china plates and all the food was placed on fancy serving platters. Darcy noticed that her quiche was left on the buffet table, still wrapped in the plastic wrap that it came in. She narrowed her eyes slightly as she took her seat next to Phil. The platters were passed around and drinks were filled. To be honest, Darcy didn't think the pot roast was anything special. She smiled to herself when she looked over at Phil's plate; he had barely touched his either. Ken and Jack were laughing like maniacs about something; while Barbie and Lindsey talked about the recent rainy weather they've been having. Of course, Melissa had herself practically glued to Phil. They were talking and laughing about something. Darcy poked at her food, wishing she was back home.

"Where's Darcy's quiche?" Phil asked. "I've been trying to sneak a piece all day." He grinned and looked over at his wife.

"Yeah, he has, but I chased him out of the kitchen with a wooden spoon. I said he couldn't have any until the party!" Darcy said with a smile as she touched the end of Phil's nose with her finger.

"Oh ...," Melissa said as she looked around the room. "I guess, I forgot to set it out." She reached behind her and picked up the quiche. "Since dinner is almost over, I won't bother with putting it on a fancy plate." The plate dropped to the table with a loud thump as she 'set' it down.

Darcy wanted to jump over the table and strangle her. "It's already cut into pieces, so no worries." She smiled, pulling the wrap off it. It looked a thousand times better than what she had ate tonight. "Can I get anyone a piece?"

There was silence from the table. No one liked broccoli?

"I'd love some," Phil spoke up as Darcy served him a piece. He took a bit and nodded. "This is excellent! You all should try it."

"I'm full," Barbara smiled. Ken nodded in agreement. Jack and Lindsey shook their heads 'no thanks'.

"Don't forget, I made my famous chocolate brownie cake with raspberry sauce! So don't fill up on dinner." Melissa said to everyone, but was looking directly at Phil when she said it.

"We can eat it on the deck outside. I'll start a fire in the fire pit," Ken said as he got up. "Wonderful dinner. Everything was just delicious!"

"Quiche was wonderful, Darce," Phil said in a whisper as he watched everyone head out of the dinning room and out to the back patio.

"Thanks," Darcy said a bit sadly, looking down at the barely eaten food she had prepared.

"I liked it. That's all that should matter," he gave her a warm smile and rubbed her back softly for a moment. "Now, let's go outside and see if we can get some info," he said in a whisper, dropping his hand and walking out.

* * *

"My god this cake! Mel, you've really out done yourself!" Ken said shoveling a forkful in his mouth.

Darcy took a bite and shrugged. It was mediocre at best, but it wasn't inedible. She stood close to the fire pit as she watched Phil and Melissa talk and laugh from the distance. Jealously flared up inside her when she saw Melissa put her hand on Phil's forearm. She wanted to go over there and slap her but knew that Phil was trying to be friendly with her so he could figure out if she knew anything. Darcy took another bite of cake, chomping so hard on fork that her teeth gnashed against the metal tines. "... shit ..." she muttered, rubbing her jaw.

"Looks like it might rain," a male voice said from behind her.

Darcy turned around. "Hey, Jack. Yeah, it does."

He smiled, taking a bite of cake. "Mel makes great cake, doesn't she?"

"Delish," Darcy forced a smile. This was her chance to snoop. She grinned wider, throwing on some extra charm. "So you're the owner of the logging business? How is that?"

"Love it. It's pretty much what keeps this town going. Most of the men that live here work out in the woods, if something were to happen to the mill, then I don't think Shady Oaks would survive." Jack took a sip of wine.

"I can't believe you're getting Phil out there," Darcy grinned. "He's not much of an outdoorsman."

"I can tell. We'll see how he does out there. Try to make a real man out of him," he teased. He glanced over at his wife as she chatted with Barbara over by the side of the house.

"So, I over heard someone say something about weird things happening out in the woods? What's that all about?" she asked.

Jack smiled. "You hear it from Johnny? That kid is always spreading rumors," he said with a shake of his head.

"Just stuff I've heard around town, not sure who it was from. Also heard something about people going missing," Darcy prayed that she wasn't sounding too obvious. Coulson was way better at finding out information subtly. She might as well be interrogating Jack.

"Well, those woods are pretty big. They go deep, and there are all kinds of cliffs, valleys, and wild animals out there. It's true though. We have had a few of ours disappear over the last couple of years," Jack said as he looked down at the ground and then back up at Darcy. He moved closer to her. Almost too close. "Just got to be careful out there," he whispered.

They way he said it sent chills up Darcy's spine. She nodded, trying to swallow the lump in her throat without drawing attention to it. "... yeah ..."

"Darcy, you have beautiful eyes," Jack whispered again.

Holy shit. Darcy did not expect him to say that. She felt her mouth drop open slightly. She watched as his eyes darted over to his wife again before looking back at her. She wasn't sure what to say.

"My daughter was right - you're a pretty girl," he smiled. "I hope I'm not overstepping any boundaries."

Oh you way overstepped, buddy - is what Darcy wanted to say to him, but instead she just shook her head 'no'. "Your daughter is lovely. She's just as sweet as can be," said looking over at Phil, hoping that he'd come over here and pull her away from this married creeper.

"I'd watch out for her."

Darcy looked back at Jack. "Who?"

"Melissa. Once she sets her sights on someone, she-" Just as he started to speak, raindrops began to splash all over the patio. He covered his head and laughed. "What a way to ruin an evening!"

Darcy nodded, just as the rain started to pound harder. Phil, Melissa and the others headed towards the door. "We better get inside!"

"Sorry about the party everyone!" Barbara apologized as they all huddled in the kitchen.

"Darcy and I should probably get going before it starts pouring," Phil said looking up at the clock. "We walked over."

"I can drive you guys!" Melissa offered.

Phil shook his head. "We wouldn't want to bother you. Thanks though," he gave her a smile.

Melissa crossed her arms and frowned slightly. "Just didn't want you to get soaked," she muttered.

"Here at least borrow my umbrella," Barbara said handing it over to Phil. "Darcy can give it back to me on Monday."

"Thank you," Phil said as he and Darcy headed to the door.

"Thank you for inviting us over," Darcy smiled. She was going to strip off her wet dress and change into sweats and have a glass of wine as soon as she got home. This was the worst dinner party she had ever been to. Okay, it was her only dinner party, but it was horrible. They waved goodbye and stepped outside. Phil popped open the umbrella and they both walked down the driveway. Neither of them said a word until they reached the tree line.

"Jack was flirting with me," she said looking up at Phil.

"Really?" Phil scrunched his brows, and frowned a bit. "What did he say?"

"That I was pretty and beautiful eyes," Darcy kept close to Phil under the umbrella. Her shoe heels sunk into the mud. Darcy groaned. "Well, that was a waste of money on these shoes ..."

"Want me to carry you?" Phil asked, wrapping his arm around her waist to steady her.

Darcy smiled at the thought. "But then we'd both get wet ... unless you can carry me and cover us with the umbrella at the same time? You are a badass though, so I bet you probably could."

Phil laughed. "At least the rain got us out of the party. Did you overhear anything that may help out case out?"

"Jack was acting weird when I mentioned about the disappearances. The way he said it ... it was just weird. He also doesn't think you're much of a man," she smirked. "You find anything out?"

He was silent for a moment. "Other than Melissa tried to kiss me. Nothing."

"What?! Seriously? You said 'tried' right?" Darcy's blood boiled again. "What did you do?"

"Told her that I couldn't kiss her." He glanced down at her. "That I was in love with you." His voice was a bit softer. They were silent again as they walked through the woods and towards their house. It was quite dark out now and the rain was more of a mist than the hard rain drops that it was before. A couple of times, Phil pulled Darcy closer to him to keep her under the umbrella.

"I'm so happy to be home," Darcy said as they exited the woods. She turned when she heard a low growl behind them. "Did you hear that?" she said, stopping and spinning back towards the woods.

"Hear what?" Phil asked, looking behind him.

"I thought I heard something ..." Darcy said trying to strain her sight in the darkness. "Never mind ... it was probably nothing." Phil nodded, but kept looking into the woods. It stood there for a moment before he turned around.

"We better get inside. Last thing we need is to catch colds," he said placing his hand on her lower back and gently pushing her forward to get moving again. Phil unlocked the door and flipped on the light when they got inside.

"Oh, I'm so fucking happy to be home," Darcy grumbled as she took off her ruined shoes. "I hate heels. I'm never wearing them again. Never."

"I thought you looked ... nice," Phil said taking off his coat and slinging it over the back of the chair.

"Just nice?" Darcy teased. She turned so that her back was towards Phil. "Can you unzip me, please? The sooner I'm out of this thing, the better."

Not more than a second later Phil's hands were on her, pulling gently at the zipper. He moved her hair out of the way so that it wouldn't catch. "Want me to make some tea?" he asked quietly. When he reached the bottom on the zipper he let go of it, but didn't let go of her. He slid his hands to her waist, holding her firmly.

For a moment Darcy stood still, her heart pounded in her chest at the thought of Phil's eyes on her semi naked back. His hands pressed tight to her; his warm breath tickling her neck. Slowly, she placed her hands on top of his and pushed them off of her, so that she could turn around and face him. "Phil ..."

"I'm sorry ..." he whispered, looking down at the floor.

"Phil," her voice was quieter this time, sounding almost needy. She reached for his tie with a shaky hand and tugged it gently so that he'd look up at her. His blue eyes met hers and for several seconds they stood there just looking into each others eyes. "Kiss me," Darcy whispered.

"Darcy, I ..." Phil said his voice cracking slightly, then his lips were on hers. Kissing her with need and passion. It was almost like the time he kissed her in the car, but not exactly. This kiss was different; this kiss was from Agent Phil Coulson to Junior Agent Darcy Lewis. His hands were at her back, smoothing over her bare skin, catching slightly on the back of her bra every once in a while. "Darcy ..." he whispered her name again next to her ear.

"Phil," she responded, wrapping her arms at the back of his neck. Her fingertips brushed the baby fine hairs at base of his neck and she felt him shudder. "Do you want to stop?"

"No ..." his voice trailed off as he moved his mouth to her neck.

Darcy closed her eyes and tilted her head back as he moved his lips to her throat. "Mmm ..." she moaned lightly, running her hands through his hair. The fact that he didn't want to quit what they were doing was turning her on. They really needed to get out of the doorway if things were going to progress any farther. She took his hands in hers and pulled them a little bit trying to lead him into the living room. "This way ..." she bit her lip playfully.

Phil grinned and let her take him into the living room; she pushed him down gently on the couch and then climbed on top of him, kissing his lips. He slid his hands over her back and stopped at the clasp of her bra.

Darcy tried to think of what to say; she knew what she wanted to say, but it would probably freak him out. She learned that trying to get with Phil Coulson was a delicate situation. She had to do everything just right if she wanted to get to the next level. He was the opposite of every guy she had even been with. He was a challenge, and she liked it. "Want me to take my dress off?" she whispered and then placed another kiss on his lips. She pulled back and studied his face hoping that she didn't say anything too provocative.

He didn't say anything but kept his hands on her. "No," he replied.

Darcy cursed at herself for saying the wrong thing. It was too much and too soon. She sighed and started to pull herself up off him, but his hands slid down to her waist and held her in place.

He smiled softly, caressing his hands over her hips; never taking his eyes off Darcy's. "Let me take it off you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating might go up to 'M' after this chapter... Maybe? Anyone want a little Darcy/Phil smut? Should I keep it clean? I'm not sure what to do. Let me know what you'd like :)


	9. Giving In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are appreciated :)

Let me take it off you.

Darcy didn't expect those words to come out of Phil's mouth. She figured it would have been something like, 'we should stop' or 'this isn't right.' Not, 'let me take it off you.' She smiled at him as his hands wandered up from her hips to her sides to her shoulders, where they finally stopped. He squeezed them gently; looking into her eyes. The room was dim; the only light from the hallway, but Darcy could see that he was taking in all that he could see of her. His eyes were showing want and need; Darcy knew that hers were showing the same thing to him. For so long she had wanted him, and now it looked like her wish was finally coming true.

Maybe.

Phil hadn't moved an inch since he placed his hands on her shoulders. Was he going back into agent mode again? She knew if he started to think too much about what he was doing, that he'd most likely back out. Darcy wasn't about to let that happen. "Phil ...' her voice breathy and low as she moved her hips slightly towards him. If he didn't start touching her again she was going to scream. No way was she going to beg though. Darcy Renee Lewis did not beg for sex, she liked making men beg her, but no way in hell would she be the one whining and pleading for it. She reached down and stroked his cheek while she placed her other hand the back of the couch to steady herself. His hands started moving again on her shoulders. Soft little squeezes just like before. "Don't start over analyzing the situation. Do what feels right," she whispered.

He chuckled, turning his head slightly; closing his eyes as she ran her hand down his cheek to his jaw. His back was pressed into the couch; his legs slightly apart with Darcy kneeling between them. She had said,  _'to do what feels right._ ' What felt right to him; he knew was wrong, but he was giving into it. His heart quickened as he took the fabric of the dress between his fingers and slowly started to pull the teal dress off her shoulders. Darcy let go of the back of the couch and straightened up so that the dress could slide down her body. It pooled around her knees and Darcy closed her eyes. His hands fell away from her and into his lap as he admired her black lacy bra and matching underwear. Lacy was an understatement; they were more see-through than anything, revealing her perfectly perky nipples. Phil squeezed his fists tighter, trying to restrain himself from pawing at her breasts.

 _Agent Phil_  was still fighting with _Regular-Guy Phil._

Darcy cracked her eyes open after a few moments passed. She had thought that as soon as that dress fell off her that Phil's hands would be all over her breasts and body, but there he was ... just staring; fists clenched so tight, that they were turning white. "See something you like, Agent Coulson?" she said quietly with a little smirk on her face. Phil broke his gaze from her breasts and looked up at Darcy. "You can touch them. Actually, I'd prefer if you do." She reached down and grabbed his hands, slowly sliding them up her tummy then to her breasts. Phil's hands opened up and he placed this flattened palms against her. She moaned softly, enjoying the first intimate touch from him. She moaned again when he moved his fingers over her pebbled nipples. She pressed her hips at him again and tipped her head back. He was becoming more bold now, cupping her breasts; feeling the weight of them; kneading them gently.

"Darcy ..." It was the first time he had spoke since he said that he wanted to take her dress off. His thumbs glided over her nipples again eliciting a little moan out of her. Her soft moans sounded like music in Phil's ears, and if this what she sounded like just by touching her breasts, he couldn't wait to hear how she sounded when he touched her in other places.

His heart pounded in his chest at the thought

"Okay," Darcy said in a breathy voice. His hands pushed her breasts together and squeezed, making her moan once again. "...you need to lose some of these clothes. Like right now." She began to tug at his tie, loosening it up; her fingers reached for the buttons of his blue shirt and began plucking them open one by one. He leaned forward a bit so she could push the shirt off his shoulders. They both chuckled when she tried to pull it off him but got stuck on his wrists. He let go of her breasts and reached down to undo the buttons on the sleeves, removing the shirt and tie, tossing it to the side of the couch.

"Better?"

Darcy grinned. "I think that undershirt needs to come off also." She grabbed the bottom of it and pulled it up over his head, tossing it with the rest of his discarded clothing. This time is was her turn to stare at his chest. She had dreams about getting to actually feel it ever since she walked in on him their first night here. To run her hands through the hair; feel his rock hard muscles (Phil Coulson certainly worked out); lick a long streak from his navel up to meet his lips. She wanted to do all that and more. "Not bad, not bad at all ... Who knew that Agent Coulson would have such a hot body underneath that suit and tie?" She ran her hands over his chest, letting the hair tickle her fingertips.

That must have done it, because Phil leaned forward towards Darcy, placing his hands on her hips, pulling her into him. His mouth met the thin lacy fabric of her bra, sucking gently at her nipple. There was a lot of talk about Darcy's breasts around S.H.I.E.L.D, about how large and perfect they were. Phil had never participated in the conversation, or even took notice to the size of them. Checking out a woman, especially a fellow agent, at work was wrong on so many levels. But, yeah, he could totally see why all the talk. Her breasts were beyond perfect. A little bit of pride swelled up inside him as he thought about the fact that he was the one actually getting to touch them. She squeaked a little when he shifted to the other breast, sucking a bit harder at it.

Jesus, she was perfect.

"Phil," Darcy panted, reaching down with her hand and touching the waistband of his pants. She kept it there for a few seconds, debating if she make a bold move of her own. She felt his hands slide up to her shoulders; mouth still working on her breasts. His teeth dragged across the fabric of her bra; tongue licked at her hardened nipples; he kissed the exposed skin just above the fabric. His hands played with the straps of her bra; sliding his fingers up and down between the straps and her skin, making her purr. "So, so good ...God ... you're good." Slowly, she loosened his belt buckle, and fiddled with the button on his pants until it came undone. She yelped when he snapped the straps of her bra against her skin, then he rubbed his fingers over the area where it left little sting marks. She need more of him; a lot more than he was giving her at the moment. While he was still working on her breasts, she took the opportunity to slide her hand into his pants, her fingertips sliding up his hard length through his boxers. His hips jerked, and he dropped his hands from Darcy.

 _"Fuck!"_  he gasped; his breath heavy as Darcy as she stroked him. A tiny smile played on her lips and she arched her eyebrow.

"Usually that's my line." Her smile turned into a toothy grin as she rubbed him. Dirty words out of Phil's mouth certainly turned her on. Her underwear beyond soaked now, and if didn't start moving his hands down in that direction soon, she was going to do it herself. Lightly, she pushed her hips towards him again; fingers still moving against his cock, though this time she slipped a finger in the slit of his boxers and stroked it against his hardened skin. This made him buck up and suck in another deep breath. "Want you to touch me ...  _Need_  you to touch me ..." she whispered, closing her eyes anticipating whatever was to come next. She sighed when she felt his hands at her breasts again. Not exactly where she needed them to be, but she wasn't going to complain. Phil Coulson was definitely proving himself to be a 'boob-guy.' Her eyes snapped opened when he yanked down one of the cups of her bra, freeing one of her breasts from their confinement. She looked down at him just as he stuck his tongue out and slowly licked at her nipple. Darcy moaned and let her hand fully into the opening of his boxers, gripping him; pumping him a couple of times.

"Jesus, Darcy ..." he moaned, tearing his mouth away from her breast. He swallowed the lump in his throat and tipped his head onto the back of the couch; closing his eyes as he savored her strokes and soft touches. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt this good, or even if he _ever_  felt this good before now. He swallowed again, trying to regain his focus. When he calmed himself down, he placed his hands at her hips and gave them a squeeze. "Darce," he whispered, looking up at her. She had been on her knees, hovering over him ever since they came into the living room, she was probably getting a bit tired. "Are your legs and knees sore? Uncomfortable?"

"I'm alright," she replied, pushing her his hips at him again. The only thing that was making her uncomfortable was her aching center.

"Well, my ass is going numb," he grinned. "Lets change positions." He wiggled a bit until Darcy reluctantly pulled her hand from his pants and stood up.

Her dress finally slid the rest of the way down her body and fell around her ankles on the floor. She kicked it to the side; feeling a bit ridiculous with one boob hanging out of her bra and soaking wet panties. A soft cool breeze blew through the window that they forgot to shut making her shiver slightly. Her nipples puckered and she crossed her arms in front of her.

"Cold?" Phil asked as he stood up and undid the zip of his pants letting them fall to the floor. He stepped out of them and moved closer to Darcy. "Want me to warm you up?" He grinned and arched his eyebrow, wrapping his arms around Darcy; hands playing with the clasp of her bra. He dipped his head down and suckled against the pale flesh of her shoulder. Carefully, he unhooked the clasp, letting the bra slide off her and fall to the floor. "Oh, Darcy ... You're so beautiful," he whispered, letting his hands glide over her soft flesh. His mouth moved from her shoulder down to her breasts, sucking and nipping at them. He could feel her heart pounding through her chest as he flicked his tongue across a nipple, making her inhale sharply. He worked his mouth down her body, stopping to dip his tongue inside her bellybutton before continuing on. He knelt down in front of her as he kissed at her hips and thighs. His hands cupped her ass, giving it a little squeeze.

Darcy didn't know how much more of this she could take standing up, her legs were shaking from fatigue and desire. "... Ph-" her sentence stopped short when she felt his fingers caress her center through wet underwear. "Oh god..." she managed to say as she looked down at him through heavy eyelids.

"Was this how you were the other night, Darcy? When we made out in the car? So hot and wet ..." he whispered, stroking his thumb over her damp lacy panties.

"I'm like this almost every night for you ..." she whispered back, running her hands through his hair. She wasn't lying either; recently anytime she thought about Phil, it immediately made her all hot and bothered for him.

It was getting rather ridiculous actually.

She would have loved to use her vibrator numerous times, but she wouldn't risk it. Not with him in the next room. Manually it was, but it never took long to make herself come, not when she thought about him doing all sorts of delicious things to her body. "Do you ever think about me when you touch yourself?" It was an honest question, she just didn't know why she decided to ask him at this moment.

"Oh god, Darcy ... Every single time. It's always you," he replied, moving his hands up to the waistband of her lacy underwear and sliding them down her legs.

Darcy could feel her cheeks burning as he peeled away her damp, sticky underwear, revealing her total nakedness. His line of sight directly at her center; his hot breath tickling her. She felt all wobbly again and gripped his shoulders to steady herself. Usually she could handle something like this, but she was feeling quite nervous in this situation. Maybe it was the fact that she never in her life felt what she felt for Phil. She might have only really got to know him on a personal level for about a month now, but he was everything to her. He just wasn't a random guy. She wobbled again and gripped her hands tighter.

"Need to lie down?" he chuckled, bringing himself up to his feet again. Her grabbed her and pulled her into his chest, kissing her mouth hungrily, he let his tongue slide into her mouth when she allowed him access. He continued kissing her as he walked her back to the couch, gently pushing her down so that her head was resting against the arm and her body laying across the cushions. "Is that better, my darling?" he asked, kneeling down on the floor near her feet.

My darling?

The way he said it made her damp between the legs again. She had been called a lot of things before, but never darling. And certainly was never called a 'my-something.' The word 'my' was possessive, like he was claiming her for himself.

God, that was so hot.

Possessive Phil ... yeah, she liked the thought of that.

"Am I yours?" she asked. He looked up at her brows knitted together in the dim light. Darcy wondered if she misunderstood him or said the wrong thing.

"I thought-" he started to say but stopped. Then it dawned on Darcy that Phil was not the kind of guy just to fuck a woman without having any serious romantic intentions. Of course, she knew what was running through his mind right now; that she was the type of girl out to just have a good time. Him calling her 'my darling' freaked her out. She had to get that thought out of his head right away.

"I want to be yours," she said quickly, and then lifted her leg up slightly so that her foot brushed against his cheek. She was relieved when his expression relaxed again; he closed his eyes and sighed, leaning into the soft caresses of her foot.

He opened his eyes again and took a hold of her foot with his hand, kneading the bottom of it with just enough pressure to make her sigh. "You wanted to know if I had a foot fetish," he said with a nervous grin. He squeezed her foot gently. "I do," he confessed, looking at Darcy for her reaction.

"Do you have pictures of feet plastered all over your apartment, Coulson?" Darcy teased, wiggling her free foot at him.

Phil smirked. "I'm not that creepy. I just happen to like cute feet and toes."

"And here I thought you were a boob guy"

"Who said I wasn't?" he grinned, looking up at her breasts when she gave them a squeeze.

"Does this mean I get all the foot massages I want?" Darcy giggled.

"Absolutely," he smirked.

"Are you going to suck my toes?" Darcy said, biting her bottom lip seductively.

"Would you like me to suck your toes?" he asked, bringing her foot closer to his mouth.

"Yes," Darcy squeaked out. This would be a first for her, but a  _good_  first. "I just can't believe that, 'Stuffy-By-The-Book-S.H.I.E.L.D-Agent-Coulson' has a foot kink. That's totally hot," she said watching him start to open his mouth.

He stopped and looked at her. "You think I'm stuffy?"

"When I first met you, I did. Clearly my perception of you has radically changed," Darcy grinned as she wiggled her toes. "So you gonna put my little piggies in your mouth or what?"

He chuckled and grazed her heel with his teeth, licking a long streak up to her toes, where he sucked on each one, all the while watching as Darcy closed her eyes, breathing heavily and moaning softly. He didn't stop there though, he brought his tongue up her leg, licking slowly, parting her legs just slightly. He bent down and nibbled her inner thigh.

"Ohh..." Darcy whispered. When she and Phil first started this, had originally thought that he'd be all shy and nervous; that it would be her taking the reigns and leading the way. Not her laying on her back, because her legs felt like jelly.

"Do you want me there, Darcy?" he whispered against her thigh. His scruff lightly scratching on her. "Do you want me to taste you? I would really love to finally to find out what you taste like."

Heat shot straight to her center again. He wanted to taste her. The fact that he had been wondering for a while what she tasted like made her moan and nod her head. She clenched the side of the couch when he dipped his head down; tongue sliding across her slit a couple of times before he pushed in a bit. She whimpered, arching her back and parting her legs further. "Fuck ... that's so good ..."

"You taste so sweet, Darcy," he whispered in between little licks and kisses. His tongue found her clit and flicked it twice. A couple of times he looked up because he missed looking at her face. Her eyes were closed; back arched; and she had her hands on her breasts rubbing her thumbs over her nipples.

Oh, god he could watch her like that all day long.

He smiled before he returned his attention back to her. Licking, sucking, and nipping; inserting one finger, then two fingers pumping them in and out until she began to whimper. Her body heaved up and down as she tried to catch her breath. "Okay sweetheart?"

"Phil ..." she mumbled. Was all this really happening? Was she and Agent Coulson really doing all this or was this just another crazy dream she was having? Darcy felt like she needed to pinch herself to see if she woke up. She opened her eyes to the sight of him stilling kneeling next to her, but closer than he was before. "You need get out of those boxers because I need your fucking cock inside me now ..." Her words a bit harsh, but her need of him right now was killing her.

He started to move, hands at the waistband of his boxers, but then he stopped. Agent Phil was getting into his head again. "Darce, maybe we should ..."

"Don't you  _fucking_  dare say stop ... We have gone this far ..." Darcy said as she leaned up on her forearms looking at Phil.

"I don't want to stop but ..." he voice trailed off as he thought of what to say. "I didn't exactly bring the proper items with me, so unless you're on birth control-"

Shit.

Darcy had stopped taking birth control a few months ago. She didn't have a boyfriend and it was really screwing with her skin, so she got off it. "I'm not on anything," she shook her head. Of course this threw a hitch into their sexy time. "Maybe ..." she tried to think of a solution.

He smiled at her. "It's okay, Darce. I still can make you-"

"Wait!" she sprang up and got off the couch quickly, running over to her purse. She fished around in it frantically for a minute until she pulled out a silver square packet. "Looky, what I have ..." she said seductively, biting on the corner of the condom wrapper.

Phil arched his eyebrow, leaning back against the couch. "Just happen to carry condoms around in your purse?" he asked, but it really didn't surprise him. Darcy was young and beautiful and a bit of a party girl. At least that's what he had heard around the office.

Darcy blushed. "This is actually from Clint. So, you and I totally owe him one. Anything he wants, okay? ..." Darcy walked slowly back to Phil and sat down at the edge of the couch.

"Barton? Why did ... Wait, do I really want to know ..." he asked cautiously, getting up and sitting on the edge of the couch.

Darcy giggled. "It was a joke. He slipped it into a 'congrats on your marriage' card. He was totally teasing me about being married to you. Said we'd need it. Guess he was right, huh?" She tore the corner of the wrapper with her teeth. "Uh-oh ... it's open now ... No going back now ..."

Phil grinned, as Darcy reached forward and tugged at his boxers until they came off. Her eyes flicked down at him, and she reached forward taking his cock in her hand, stroking it. "I want you so bad ..." her voice purred in his ear, sliding her fingers to the tip of him and smearing the moisture that beaded there. His breathing ragged and his body heaved up and down. He let her touch him for a few more minutes until he couldn't take it any longer.

"Lie back," he whispered, pushing her gently back on the couch so that her head was resting on the arm again. She closed her eyes and sighed, as he quickly tore the condom wrapped the rest of the way open and slipped it on. A moment later he was crawling up her body, placing his forearms on either side of Darcy, balancing himself on the narrow couch. He moved his hips slightly, letting his cock just tease her opening, making her spread her legs wider. "Darcy, you're so beautiful ... so  _sexy_ ," he whispered, kissing her neck; nuzzling his face into her hair; licking just behind her ear. He'd touch her anywhere he could get to.

"Oh fuck ..." Darcy cried out as he sunk his cock into her a little bit at a time until he was fully inside her. Her fingernails dug into his back when he started to move inside her slowly.

"Does this feel okay?" He wanted to make sure she still was comfortable with all of this. If she wanted him to stop, he would.

"So  _fucking_  good ..." she moaned, keeping her eyes squeezed shut.

"Darcy, look at me. I want you to look into my eyes," he panted, keeping his rhythm steady.

Her eyes met his blue ones, and it was like looking directly into his soul. Yeah, it sounded corny and cliché, but it was really what it felt like to her. He smiled and tipped his head down to kiss the end of her nose. She could feel his breath becoming ragged again; his thrusts becoming deeper. Everything he was doing to her made her insides begin to unspool.

She was coming undone.

"Ph-Phil ...  _fuck_  ... I'm so ...  _close_..." she managed to say between her panting and his deep thrusts.

He grunted something, tangling his hand in her hair; kissing her neck; licking the curve of her throat, before quickly pulling out of her. Darcy whimpered, looking at him wondering what the hell was going on. "Get up. Lean on the back of couch," he ordered (but in a sweet way).  His hands guided her so that she was kneeling on the couch backwards; her hands placed on the top to steady herself, just as she was before. Except this time, instead of Phil being under her, he was behind her. "Is this okay?" he asked.

"Fuck yeah ..." Darcy mumbled, bracing herself for when he entered her from behind. This was better than anything she could have imagined. The first time they were together and they were doing so much; exploring so many different places of each others body. She sucked in a sharp breath when he pushed his cock into her. "Fuck! Oh fuck ... _fuck baby_... that's  _so_  good ..." she said breathlessly.

He moaned as he pushed in and out of her, changing the speeds; trying to get a steady rhythm again. He wanted to hold out as long as he could, but he knew that it was going to be a tough feat. He rubbed his hands on her hips, then lowered them to her ass, giving it a good squeeze. "Darcy ..." he moaned her name over and over as he slinked his hand to the front of her, slipping a finger in and rubbing her clit.

"Don't stop ... please Phil .. _. faster_..." Darcy panted as she felt him buck into her harder. Her whole body felt like it was going to explode, her vision going fuzzy. She cried out when he put pressure on her clit with his thumb, her body spasmed just as Phil moaned loudly. His hand gripped tightly on her hip. Darcy leaned forward against the back of the couch as Phil pulled out of her slowly. She could hear him breathing heavily and uneven as he sat down next to her. She looked over at him and smiled shakily. "Not bad for a guy who hasn't had sex in eight years ..."

Phil chuckled, tipping his head back on the couch. "Way to make a guy feel good, Darce." His whole body felt electric and alive.

She moved over, curling up next to him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him, kissing her sweaty forehead. "That was so good. Fucking amazing ... What time is it?" she asked, resting her head against him.

"I don't know. You ripped my watch off me and tossed it somewhere," he smirked, giving her another kiss. "I would have to guess somewhere around midnight."

Darcy yawned. "I'm tired. You spent the last of my energy for the night," she smirked and kissed his shoulder.

Phil nodded his head in agreement. "We should get some sleep." He stood up then helped Darcy to her feet.

"I'm making you waffles in the morning," Darcy grinned.

"Mmmm ... Is that my reward for giving you such great sex?" He joked as they walked up the stairs.

"Sex and waffles," Darcy giggled. "What's better than that?" She headed to her room and stopped at the door, turning back to look at Phil.

He returned her grin, stopping at his bedroom door.

"Where are you going?" She asked raising her eyebrow.

"To bed," he said pointing into his room.

Oh, no ... you are not sleeping on that futon _ever_  again." She crooked her finger and gestured for him to come with her. "You're sleeping with me from now on. Come to bed with me, Phil."

Phil smirked and nodded slowly. "Okay, Darce. Let me get cleaned up and I'll be there in a second," he said softly.

Darcy watched him disappear into his room before walking into hers. She put on a fresh pair of underwear and then crawled into her bed, pulling the blanket up around her as she waited for Phil to return. She nibbled on her lip trying to keep herself from smiling. She couldn't help it though; she just felt so good.

"Hey," Phil whispered as he crawled into bed next to her. He let out a gratified sigh, wiggling close to Darcy, wrapping his arm around her as she laid her head on his chest. "This is a really comfortable bed. I would have fucked you a long time ago, if I knew you were going to let me sleep in it," he joked.

Darcy giggled.  _"Stahp it!"_  She hit him playfully on the chest and giggled again. "You're turning me on with that dirty mouth of yours. You're awfully cute when you talk like that, Agent Coulson," she said, gliding her fingers over the hair on his chest. She could feel him grin against the top of her head.

"Night, Darcy," he said with one last kiss to her forehead.

"Goodnight, Phil," Darcy whispered softly as she nestled into him. She closed her eyes when she felt his arms wrap snuggly around her, making her feel safe and content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it ... Phil and Darcy sexy times :) You like?


	10. Can We Make This Work?

"Morning beautiful," Phil said softly when Darcy's eyes fluttered open. He laid facing her, running one hand gently down her shoulder to her elbow; a warm smile playing on his lips.

"Morning," Darcy said sleepily. She yawned a bit and then turned her face quickly just as Phil tried to give her a kiss. "Don't kiss me. I have bad morning breath," she closed her mouth tightly and shook her head.

"Alright, but I don't mind," he chuckled.

"How long have you been awake?" Darcy asked, looking over at the clock which read 9:03. She stretched her arms above her head and pointed her toes. Last night certainly had made her body ache in ways she hadn't felt in along time.

"About an hour," Phil replied shifting closer to her. He placed his hand on the sheet at the curve of her hip, stroking gently.

"You didn't wake me up?"

"You looked really comfortable," Phil squeezed at her hip and gave her a smile. "Plus, I recall you saying that you hated to be woken up super early. Don't want to get on your bad side. Not again."

She blinked at him a couple of times; then looked down, feeling a bit guilty that she had been so mean to him a few days ago. "Playing the guilt trip card, Coulson?" She tried to make a snarky remark to hide her guilt.

"Not at all." He didn't want to start an argument with her. "You look cute when you sleep. I didn't want to wake you."

Darcy smiled. "You like watching me sleep?" She asked and then grinned wider when he nodded his head yes. She shifted in the cool sheets, rubbing her leg against his. "I need to go to the store today. I want to get some groceries and, like, the biggest box of condoms I can find."

Phil arched his eyebrow; a faint pink spread across his cheeks. He still couldn't believe that they actually slept together, and more importantly, he couldn't believe how bold he was with his words and actions. At least she didn't think he was a pervy old man; even though he sure felt like one.

Darcy giggled. "Okay with you?"

He nodded yes. Of course he was fine with that.

More than fine.

"Good," she grinned at him and then giggled again. Darcy reached to his face and slid her finger down his nose. He smiled and kissed her finger tip when she reached his lips. "I just noticed that you have freckles. God, that's effing adorable."

Phil laughed. "Okay, time to get up, Darcy. As much as I want to lay around in bed with you all day, I have a check in with Fury at 10:30. I hate that we have nothing new to report to him." He sat up and pushed the covers away. "You're still making me waffles, right?" He stood up stretching his arms out in front of him; yawning slightly. Staying in bed with Darcy was at the top of his wish list; a chat with Fury was not.

Darcy grinned as she watched him head to the door. "Yessir! I'll have 'em done by the time you're outta the shower."

"Thata girl," he chuckled as Darcy blew him a kiss.

* * *

After the most amazing blueberry waffles Phil had ever ate, he decided that he should try to get some work done while Darcy was out. She had left for Cedar's grocery store about a half hour ago to get some food as well as other things. Things that made him blush just thinking about them. He tapped his pen wildly against the manila folder trying to read the bio on Harold Doss, but his mind kept drifting to Darcy. Both of them could get thrown out of S.H.I.E.L.D for the amount of protocols that they had broken. Twenty years of service down the drain; not to mention that Darcy's career would be over before it actually began. He flipped the page of the dossier and exhaled loudly, Fury may only have one eye, but the bastard seemed to know everything. Fury would probably sense that he and Darcy had been together as soon as they walked back into the headquarters.

The cell phone next to him beeped and he reached over and looked at the screen.

<U like cheese ravioli?>

He smiled.

<Absolutely.> He typed and then pressed the send button. He was really going to miss Darcy's cooking when they finished this assignment. If she wasn't an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, she should really be a chef with her own five star restaurant. Phil would be there everyday. Not just for the food, but to see her lovely face.

He closed his eyes for a moment before he started to read over the file again. As much as he wanted to think about Darcy all day, he knew that he needed to get his mind back on work. Almost a month had gone by and they hadn't had any big leads that would help them solve this case.

They were running out of time. Fury had made that very,  _very_  clear to him.

A bit later the front door opened and Darcy walked in carrying a bag of groceries. "Well, guess what?" she said in a huff, setting the bag on the coffee table.

"Whatever it is, it doesn't look good," Phil said, noticing the sweat gleaning on her forehead. "Why don't you let me drive you next time?"

"Because I like to walk. It's not that far, but it's hot as fuck out there today," Darcy said wiping her hand over her sweaty skin. She plopped down on the cushion next to him and smiled.

"What?" Phil asked.

"You totally did me on here last night," she smirked and raised her eyebrows quickly a couple of times.

Phil looked down and scratched his head trying to hide his scarlet cheeks. She certainly had a way with words.

"But, looks like we won't be doing it again any time soon." She crossed her arms when Phil looked up at her. "They were out of condoms. They only carry one kind too. Isn't that weird? I mean, god, you go to any other store in America and they got ones for 'her pleasure'; 'his pleasure'; 'their pleasure'; ones that glow in the dark ... you name it. Here they have one ... and they're out. I checked everywhere," she said as she got up and grabbed the bag off the table and stomped towards the kitchen.

"You check by the bananas?" Phil said as he watched her disappeared into the other room.

"Why would they be by the bananas?" Darcy called out. There was silence for a moment and then her laughed filled the kitchen. "Hahaha ... Bananas! Yeah seems like a place Ken and Barbie would put them!"

Phil grinned and then went back to work.

* * *

"I still cannot believe you haven't seen Game of Thrones," Phil said as he dried a plate and put it into the cupboard.

Darcy stuck her hands into the soapy water and scrubbed at the metal pot. They had finished up dinner and now were on kitchen clean up duty. She had wanted to clean up by herself that way Phil could relax but he insisted that he would help her. She didn't mind though; standing shoulder to shoulder with him was alright with her. "I know, that's why I'm pissed that there's a marathon on tonight and we don't get H-B-Fuckin'-O. Or any T.V. channels for that matter." She pulled the plug in the sink and watched as all the dirty water drained out.

"I can probably fix that." Phil set the pot on the shelf and flipped off the light as they walked out into the living room. He pulled a small device out of his bag, walked to the back of the television, and started to fiddle around with the wiring.

Darcy sat down on the couch and kicked her feet up on the coffee table. "I will kill you, if you tell me we could have been watching T.V. all this time. Are you doing some illegal handy work, Coulson?"

"Do you want to watch Game of Thrones, or not?" Phil asked poking his head out from the back of the T.V.

"Hey, I'm not complaining," she grinned. "I like that Coulson has a bad boy side."

"Cable stealing is considered bad boy?" Phil arched his eyebrow and smirked. He tapped the top of the television and it turned on. The picture was scrambled but when he gave it another tap, it became clear. Darcy grabbed the remote and immediately started flipping the channels.

"Oh glorious television how I have missed you!" Darcy placed her hand to her heart and looked at Coulson. "You're my hero. A true national treasure!"

"I don't know about that." He picked up the file that he had been working on all day and opened it back up. Several pictures of men stared back at him, each one had been missing for years. All five men had been loggers and were last seen in the forest. There had to be another connection though, something else that Phil was missing. Darcy had gone back into the kitchen to make some popcorn and get them something to drink before the show started. Minutes later she returned with a big bowl of hot buttery popcorn and two cans of Coke.

"I heard this show has lots of blood and boobs in it," she said tossing a piece of popcorn up in the air and catching it in her mouth. She waited for a response from Phil but he was deep in thought, staring at the faces of the photos and flipping back and forth pages of the file. "So, um, how did the chat with Nick go?"

He looked up at her and shrugged. "Didn't have much to report to him. He wasn't too pleased, but I assured him that I'd have more to tell him next time." Phil marked something on Ryan Crawley's file, then sighed.

"So they're all loggers.  _Were_  loggers, I mean," Darcy pulled the file towards her so she could have a look also. She felt bad that she was slacking off again, the little fantasy of playing house was taking over the real reason why they were here. Sleeping with Phil certainly did not help at all; it made the fantasy seem that more tangible. "Okay ... so ... all of them worked for Jack. We should ask him about them,"

"I plan on it. I just have to figure out how to go about it," Phil said looking over at Darcy. "He's not as easy going as Ken is,"

"I could ask him," Darcy said. "He likes me."

"Yeah, I know. That's why you're not going anywhere near him again." His voice flat, almost commanding. "I don't trust him."

Protective Phil. Yep, totally hot. Even though Darcy was pretty sure she could take care of herself.

"I could say the same about Melissa. I don't trust her with you. She's been trying to get all on you since day one." Darcy was mentally punching Melissa in her head. She was just as protective of Phil as he was of her. Darcy scrunched her face as she thought about something. "Actually, I saw her at the grocery store today. She was in the checkout line as I was coming in. She had a lot of meat in her cart. I didn't really think much about it until now."

"Meat? Maybe she's having a big party?" Phil pushed his glasses up a little farther on the bridge of his nose.

"But it was all meat. A lot of it, like, steaks and roasts and all sorts of stuff like that."

"Melissa ... likes ... meat," Phil said as he wrote the words down on the file.

Darcy laughed. "You don't find that weird? Don't make fun of me!" She playfully punched him in the arm.

"I'm not. I took note of it. It's something to look into, I suppose." His lips twitched in a smile, and he put his arm around Darcy. She snuggled into him and flipped the page of the file. Working close to Phil was one of her new favorite things.

"All the men were in their forties and have blue eyes," Darcy observed. "Is that a clue?"

"Really?" Phil scrunched his brows. How could he have missed something that obvious? The facts were there right in front of him. "It definitely is. It's a big connection between all of them. That and them all being loggers. Good work, Darce."

"Thanks, see sometimes I think you over look the obvious," she said taking sip of Coke. "Not everything is hidden, Agent."

He smiled. He definitely was right when he suggested to Fury that they recruit Darcy Lewis, college student from Culver University in her second year there. Fury was more than apprehensive about bringing a Political Science major into S.H.I.E.L.D, but he trusted Phil, so he went ahead and contacted Darcy. Darcy had no idea that Phil had been watching her for several months prior to her joining S.H.I.E.L.D. "I'll try to get some info tomorrow." He closed the file and set it on the coffee table.

"Because tomorrow you get to be lumberjack Phil and play in the woods. Hope you packed a flannel shirt and a pair of Timberlands. And a ski hat ... you need a hat." Darcy wrapped her hand in his just as Game of Thrones came on. His faint cologne soothed her, she cuddled as closely as she could, resting her head against his chest as they watched the show. He had kissed the top of her head several times and nuzzled his face into her hair. Butterflies fluttered around in Darcy's stomach every time he touched her. Half way into the second episode, Darcy tilted her head up to Phil's and smiled at him. "So ..."

He smiled back at her. "Yeah?" he said softly, running his hand through one of her loose curls.

"Are we going to try to make this work somehow? Us. Like, together ... as a couple?" Darcy's voice cracked a bit.

Silence.

Maybe she was reading into things too much. Maybe he didn't have any intentions about being in a real relationship with her. Maybe he just wanted to have a good time while they were here, but once back in the real world they would just go back to agents. Her stomach churned with the thought. The fact that he still hadn't said anything to her wasn't helping out either. "... did I say something ... wrong?"

"No." Finally he spoke up, but he sounded distant, like he was thinking real hard on the right answer. Maybe he was trying to think on how to let her down easily.

"It's okay. I just thought-"

"No, I do want to make this work. I wouldn't have slept with you if I didn't want to form a relationship with you. I'm just not one of those guys. It's just going to be rather difficult ..." He went silent again, pulling at a loose thread on the couch. "Technically, we aren't supposed to date. It's against protocol for me to date a junior agent. Especially since we work in the same unit. I could get demoted or expelled. You would probably get reprimanded, possibly demoted back to a level one."

"I'm willing to risk it," Darcy said more quickly than she should have. She just wanted to let him know that she was serious about him.

"Me too," he said quietly, looking up at her. It was the first time that he ever risked his position with S.H.I.E.L.D. Darcy was worth it though, that he was a hundred percent sure of. There was one other little thing that was weighing on his heart and he wanted to make sure that it didn't bother her, because he was still fighting with it himself. "... You don't think I'm too old for you?" The fact that he could have a daughter her age was not a pleasant thought in his head.

"Not at all. I'm an adult, you're an adult. Just because there is a big gap between us doesn't bother me at all. Besides, it's not like anyone is going to know we're even dating to talk about it. Does it bother you a lot?" Darcy asked, squeezing his hand.

"Kind of," he chuckled. "If this was a few years ago then you would have been underaged and -"

"But it's not a few years ago, Phil. It's now. I'm twenty-three, you're forty-three-"

"Forty-five," he corrected.

Darcy shrugged. "Whatever. Your age, it doesn't bother me. I'll be your sexy nurse when you're old and frail. I'll be there to there to push you around in your wheelchair and mush up all your meals and feed them to you," she grinned.

" _Christ ..._ " he chuckled, placing his hands at the sides of his nose, and rubbing it. Were they really going to do this? Try to have some sort of intimate relationship with each other. Yes, that's what it sounded like. He was going to date Darcy Lewis, a twenty-three year old, junior S.H.I.E.L.D agent. He nodded, "Alright, but we are going to have to be very careful about this, Darcy. We must remain professional at work. That means, no touching, no sweet talk-"

"No fucking me on your desk," Darcy said with a sly grin.

Phil's lips twitched in a little smile. "Nothing that will bring any attention to our relationship. At work we'll just be Agent Coulson and Agent Lewis, just as we have been before. Out of work, we'll have to choose the places we go carefully. We can't risk being seen by any other agents."

"Hell, I don't care if we don't go anywhere but your apartment. I just want to be with you," Darcy replied, leaning her head on his shoulder.

That was the truth.

"You really want to do this, Darcy?" Phil asked again, just to make sure.

"I've never been so sure about anything in my life, Phil."

He nodded. "Me too, Darce." He smiled and wrapped his arms tightly around her, kissing her forehead. They were silent for a little while, watching the T.V, not really knowing what was actually going on in the show anymore.

"You know what?" Darcy asked a bit later, after the episode ended.

"What?"

"I started seeing this guy. He's a badass, gorgeous super spy; who has a foot fetish and fucks me like a man on a mission," Darcy giggled, reaching up and placing a little kiss on Phil's cheek.

What had he gotten himself into?

"He sounds perfect. I hope he makes you really happy." He said it jokingly but he really meant it. He didn't want to disappoint Darcy; he just hoped,  _really hoped_ , that she would understand when he always couldn't be there for her. Because it would be inevitable that there would be a time when he would have to go away for long periods without any contact with her.

"He has so far. For the most part. At the beginning he was a bit difficult, but I was able to break him down." She flicked off the T.V. and kissed the tip of his nose. "Well, I missed a big chunk of Game of Thrones. Oh well."

"I have the first season on DVD at home. We'll watch them on date nights."

Dating.

He hadn't dated in a long time, and jumping back into it kind of scared him. He wasn't real great at it back then, and probably still sucked at it now. He try his best at it, though.

"Sounds fun!" she giggled. It still hadn't sunk into her that she and Phil were going to attempt at a real relationship. She'd do her best to not fuck anything up; she wanted this to work out. "We better go to bed. It's my last week of fuckin' awesome art camp! You have no idea how excited I am about that," she said, standing up, yawning real big.

"And I have to get up early to scope out the forest." He got to his feet and switched off the living room light. "You still want me in your bed?" he asked. The futon would be fine with him if she wanted them to build up on sleeping together.

"You're kidding right? Of course, I do!" Darcy said as she followed him up the stairs that were dimly lit by the bathroom nightlight. "Truthfully, last night was the most comfortable night I have ever slept in that bed. It was better with your arms wrapped tightly around me. I know sexy times are off the menu, but you'll still hold me, won't you?"

"Always," he replied as they walked into the bedroom, shutting the door softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love it? Hate it? Please leave a comment to let me know how I'm doing! :)


	11. What's Going On Here?

"Serial killer," Darcy said popping her head in the bathroom. Phil was leaning against the sink, shirtless and brushing his teeth.

"Huh?" he asked through a mouthful of white foam.

"You look like a rabid dog," Darcy teased as she leaned up against the doorframe. "Serial killer. I'm putting money on it. The five guys who all disappeared were loggers in their forties with blue eyes. Totally sounds like a serial killer to me."

Phil rinsed his mouth and reached for his blue flannel shirt. "Could be. Though, I'm betting if this was just your basic serial killer that S.H.I.E.L.D wouldn't have even looked at it twice. We don't deal with that kind of stuff there. Local P.D, even the FBI would be more suited to handle a serial killer case." He looked out the window; the sun was just coming up over the tree line and if he wanted to make it to the logging site on time, he'd have to hurry.

"Aliens, then?" Darcy asked again, eyeing him as he buttoned his shirt. She would have loved to do that for him. She made a mental note to make sure she unbuttoned it later tonight; unbuttoning was always more fun anyhow. "There are aliens out there right? I hear things around S.H.I.E.L.D about them."

Being a level two didn't come with many inside perks; basically you were still pushing papers with the addition of light field work. Usually an agent didn't get to know what was really going on out there until at least a level four. Aliens, people with powers, gods, demons, monsters, they were all very real. Phil was a level seven and had seen and done a lot in his years with S.H.I.E.L.D.

A lot more than most people would do and see in their entire lives.

He shrugged. "Could be. I suppose, there could be aliens out there," he said with a wink as he pushed past Darcy.

"The truth is out there, Coulson. I want to believe," Darcy smirked as she followed him down the stairs. "You don't have time for breakfast?"

"Nope, not unless I want to be late on my first day," he picked up his phone and stuck it into his pocket. Sitting down, he grabbed his boots and a small plastic looking pistol, which he put in the inside pocket of his down vest.

"You think this is going to be gun worthy?" Darcy asked, taking in the hotness that was undercover Phil Coulson. Damn, he looked absolutely amazing, all rugged-like with a gun.

New fantasy.

"I'm heading out into the woods where five men disappeared without a trace. Just safe guarding myself." He stood up grabbing his car keys and headed to the door. He stopped just as he put his hand on the knob, pausing for a moment before walking back over to Darcy.

"I thought you were forgetting something," she said as his arms wrapped around her and he kissed her softly on the mouth. She was going to miss those arms; she'd be thinking about them all day while she was in art camp hell. "I'll miss you," she said, nipping at his lip.

"Miss you too. Have fun today," he quickly kissed her cheek, and then headed out the door.

 

* * *

 

Phil drove down the dirt road heading towards the logging area of the woods. The air was chilly this morning; a lot chillier than it had been previously had been. The tall pine trees kept the area shaded, blocking most of the sunlight so it still seemed really dark out as he drove his car down the windy road. Maybe taking his personal car on this mission wasn't such a great idea. By the time he reached the site he was already fifteen minutes late. He walked out of his car and waved to Jack and several of the other guys that were leaning up against a piece of machinery. They were sipping coffee and didn't give him a smile back. "Morning," Phil said tight lipped, looking around at the men.

"You're a little late," Jack said picking up a hard hat and tossing it at Phil. "Time is money and we're losing it every minute we don't start when we're supposed to."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Guess my car isn't built for this kind of terrain. Had to take it a bit slower on some of the curves," Phil said putting the hat on. He looked around taking in his surroundings. Lots of machinery and a small shack, which he guessed was their office. Nothing out of the ordinary as of yet. "I probably don't have time to grab a cup of coffee, do I?" he asked hopeful. Skipping out on breakfast was probably the worst decision he made so far today.

"Next break is at ten," Jack smirked as several of the other guys chuckled. "You're probably used to taking coffee breaks whenever you want though. It'll be a big change not being your own boss for a few hours. Ready to tackle a real man's job?" he joked.

Bastard.

Phil gave another tight lip smile and nodded. "Well, I'm up for the challenge. So what do you want me to do? Chop some trees down?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, we'll being doing a lot of that today. Bob, will show you what what your job is. Don't think  _you'll_  be chopping any trees though." He motioned for the guys to hop into the trucks and pointed to Phil. "You'll ride with me and Bob. We're heading up to a part of the forest where the roads are a bit ... rough. Wouldn't want you to take that fancy car of yours up there."

"Sounds good," Phil said climbing into the back seat of the pickup truck. He sat in silence as Jack drove up the dirt road that was on more of an incline than Phil was comfortable with. The forest was thick up here; lots of tall pines and trees that were so gnarled that they looked like they had long fingers ready to reach out and grab.

"Fog is rolling in," Bob muttered.

"Figured it would. The weather has been a bit off the last couple of days. Hopefully, it won't shut us down today, because we can't afford it." Jack said and then glanced back at Phil. "There is more light up at the site than here, so don't worry about working in the dark."

Phil nodded. "Good." He took his phone out of his pocket and looked at it, half hoping that Darcy had sent him a text message.

"No cell service up here, Coulson." Bob said with a smirk. "We're too high up in the mountains and the trees don't help either."

"Oh, right. I was wondering why I kept losing my signal," Phil said with a slight laugh. Actually, his phone was working perfectly. Thanks to the S.H.I.E.L.D satellite that was hanging up high in the atmosphere. He glanced down at the screen again, disappointed that there was nothing from Darcy. He sighed and put his phone away just as Jack stopped the truck.

"Here we are," he said getting out. Two other trucks stopped behind him and the rest of the guys got out ready to start their work day.

"Fucking fog is going to be a problem," one of the guys muttered, handing out flashlights to everyone. "Keep these handy, we'll probably need them at some point. Tom, Henry you two are on skidder duty today. Phil, go with Bob and he'll put you to work."

 

* * *

 

Darcy walked into the classroom with a big smile on her face. Today was the start of the last week of art camp and then she'd never have to deal with any of these little bratty terrors again. It wasn't just the kids though; it was Barbara and Melissa.

Especially Melissa.

Just the sight of that woman made Darcy enraged. Even more so now that she and Phil were together. God, she still couldn't believe that she and Phil were going to attempt at a real relationship. Agent Phil Coulson, level 7 S.H.I.E.L.D badass, wanted to be with her.

She grinned wider.

"What are you smiling about?" Melissa said as she came up behind her, holding a bag of pinecones in her hand.

Just thinking about how Phil wants me and not you. That's what Darcy wanted to say. "What are we doing with the pinecones?" Darcy completely skipped her question and changed the subject.

"Oh." Melissa looked down at the bag and then back up at Darcy. "We're making pinecone bird feeders. You know with peanut butter and birdseed."

Awesome. Giving kids peanut butter to smear on pinecones was a really good idea. Nope, not going to be a disaster at all.

"Cool, that should be really fun. Where are the pinecones from?" Darcy asked.

Melissa raised her eyebrow. "From pinecone flowers," she said flatly. "They come from pine trees, Darcy. From the woods." She shook her head and then walked away to get the kids settled.

Darcy gave Melissa the 'fuck you' look, then shook her head just as Barbara walked up beside her.

"Can you fill these cups with birdseed and pass them out to each kid?" she asked, handing Darcy a tray of plastic cups and a bag of birdseed

"Sure." Darcy nodded taking the tray. She looked around the room counting how many kids she'd need to fill cups for. Seventeen. Usually there was eighteen kids in class. Someone was missing; her eyes scanned the room until they fell on the empty chair in the back of the room. "Barbara, where is Annie Martin?"

Barbara looked up from her paper. "Oh, her parents decided to pull her out of the camp."

 

* * *

 

So far they haven't given him anything to do. Phil had been following Bob around for the last half hour, while he talked to Jack over the walkie talkie. The two men seemed to be discussing everything but work. Phil learned that Bob had three different girlfriends and possibly knocked up a forth girl. Jack on the other hand complained about his wife packing him a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Phil internally yelled at himself for not packing anything to eat today, somehow he doubted that they'd share anything of theirs with him.

"So," Bob finally said to Phil. "I'm going to let you mark some of these trees. Take this spray paint and I'll point to the ones that we're planning on cutting down. Spray a big 'X' on it. Easy, right? Can you handle that?"

Phil wanted to spray a big 'X' on Bob. Of course, he could handle it.

"I think, I can. Hopefully anyhow. Last time I used spray paint I ended up spraying it in my face," Phil laughed nervously, shaking the spray can vigorously.

Writer Phil was kind of a bumbling idiot.

Bob smirked then shook his head. He sighed loudly and walked over to a grouping of trees. "All these here need to be marked," he said tapping one of the pines. Jack's voice came over the walkie talkie and Bob picked it up. "Yeah, he's doing it now ... hang on ... Coulson, not those trees. Hey, back ...yeah he almost marked the wrong ones. Tell me again why you decided to bring him along ..." He said loudly, walking away from Phil.

Phil watched as Bob walked off into a grouping of trees until he completely disappeared into the shady pines. He shook the spray can again and started to paint a giant neon orange 'X' on each of the trees. He did it slowly; taking his time to look around at the area for any clues or anything out of the ordinary that would help them solve the case. Even after he marked all the trees that he was supposed to he continued to keep on walking. Every once in awhile he'd check to make sure he wasn't being followed. He could hear the heavy machinery and some of the mens shouts in the distance; which was a great comfort to him. Otherwise, the dead silence would amp the creep factor of the forest up a whole lot more.

His phone vibrated in his pocket; either it was Darcy or someone from the science lab with the findings of the air quality of the woods that he sent them the night of the party. He went behind one of the trees, leaning up against it and took out his phone.

<So the Martin's pulled Annie out of camp. Is that weird?>

Darcy. Phil smiled.

<Very. Reason?> He typed and sent.

<None given. Jack didn't mention anything?>

<No.>

His phone vibrated a second later. <Having fun?>

<Nope.> He typed back and sent. He rubbed his hand over the bark of the tree he was leaning against, stopping when he felt something wiry, like bristles of a paintbrush.

His phone vibrated again. <So hot 4 U right now. C U later, baby.>

He grinned slightly, before putting the phone into his pocket. He crouched down a bit to analyze the hair that was stuck to the side of the tree. His fingers brushed over the light reddish hair; it was definitely a lot more corse than any hair from a fox or a bear. It were times like these when he wished he was more familiar with animal biology. Science and all that stuff was never his strong point. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black bag that contained a pair of tweezers, carefully he plucked the hair off the tree and placed it in the bag. The hair may be nothing, but being the good agent that he was he wanted to send it off to the labs to have it analyzed.

"Hey Coulson!"

Phil heard Bob call out his name and he hurried back through the trees to the area where he was supposed to be marking trees. "Yeah?" he said with a slight smile to Bob when he came into view.

"We're heading back down for lunch and to get the logs that we cut today ready to process," Bob said crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes. "You missed a couple of trees."

"Sorry 'bout that," Phil apologized, shaking the spray can again.

 

* * *

 

It had been a peanut butter apocalypse today in the class room. It was on the floors; the walls; stuck to the desks; it covered the pencils, markers, glue bottles.

It was everywhere.

The worst part of it was that all the kids were gone and none of them had helped clean up the mess they created. It was now up to Darcy, Barbie, and Melissa to do it. Except it appeared that Darcy was the only one on her knees scrubbing. Barbie and the 'tramp' were standing over by the windows laughing about something.

Darcy rolled her eyes as she scrubbed a gooey spot under the desks. She cursed each one of those little monsters to hell. Kids pissed her off, that was very clear to her now. She looked up at the clock; only five more hours and Phil would be home from his excursion in the woods. She guess that his day was going just as shitty as her day was. Though given the option of going into creepy woods or having another peanut butterpalooza; she'd take her chance with the peanut butter.

"...her mother is sick," Barbara whispered to Melissa. Darcy's ears perked up and she slowed her scrubbing down to a slower pace.

"Is that why she wasn't here today?" Melissa whispered back. Darcy stilled her body and strained her ears. Who's mother was sick?

"I hear she's not doing well at all. And to think we just saw her Saturday night at the party ... she seemed perfectly fine. It was just like last year when she got sick, except this time, she's worse. A lot worse." Barbara whispered as she placed her hand over her heart.

"That's terrible. I hope Annie doesn't lose her mother. I know the two of them are very close," Melissa whispered.

 

* * *

 

"Darcy?" Phil said as he walked into the house. He had gotten home a bit later than he wanted to; he would have been home later though if he would have gone to Branson's for drinks with the guys. He set his keys down on the table and walked into the kitchen. Whatever Darcy had in the oven smelled amazing, making his stomach growl as he opened the refrigerator and grabbed a beer.

"Hey!" Darcy's voice said from behind him and he turned to smile at her. She was dressed in a black tank top and a pair of neon green cotton shorts. She rubbed a towel over her head. "Sorry, I was in the bathtub. I had peanut butter in my hair. You just get home? I got chicken parmesan in the oven. Hungry?"

"Starving," he smiled as they walked back into the living room. He sat down on the couch and took a swig of his beer. "Peanut butter in your hair?"

"I never want to see peanut butter again," she rolled her eyes. "You look like you had a rough day. Crappy day at the lumberyard?"

"Glad that's not my real job," he shook his head. "However, I did find a hair sample that I'm going to scan over to the labs. Could just be from an indigenous animal of the area. I don't know though." Phil took another sip of beer.

Darcy sat down next to him, curling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "I found out Annie Martin's mom is really sick. I guess that's why Annie was pulled out of camp." Darcy scrunched her brows together. "So Jack didn't say anything about his wife being on her death bed?"

"No at all. He complained that she made him a ham and cheese sandwich, but that was all. She's sick? How so?" Phil tapped his fingers on his leg and then stood up, walking over to the corner desk and sitting down in the chair. He took the sample out of his pocket, slipped his glasses on and then opened his laptop. He wanted to get this thing sent over to the S.H.I.E.L.D labs tonight, and hopefully tomorrow they'd have an answer to what it was. Slowly, he waved a black wand over the hair scanning it to the computer.

"I'm not sure why she's sick. Melissa and Barbie were being all hush-hush when they thought I was trying to listen in. I think I'm going to go to the Martin's tomorrow after camp. Maybe I can find out something or at least see if there is anything I can do to help them out," Darcy said as she walked over, placing her hands on his shoulders watching the blue light from the wand scan the hair. "Okay, that thing is cool. Is it like a scanner thingy or something?"

"Yes. A bit more sophisticated though. Supposedly, it'll replicate the hair in 3D form right to the labs. It's easier than having to send it out and wait for days. This way it can be at the lab ready for analyzing in seconds. It's a prototype though, so we'll see if it works." Phil leaned back into Darcy a bit when she started massaging his shoulders.

"S.H.I.E.L.D has all the cool toys," Darcy whispered as she worked on spot close to his neck.

" _Mmm_  ... you can thank Tony Stark for that ..." He exhaled deeply and closed his eyes after he sent the sample off.

"You're really tense. Loosen up a bit, Agent Coulson," Darcy whispered into his ear. "Let's just put away all the work stuff away for the rest of the evening."

"It's just been a long and tiring day," he chuckled. "I suppose we could take a break from work tonight."

Darcy swiveled his chair around so that he was facing her. "Have you ever been to a strip club?"

"What? Why are you asking? " Phil's voice was a bit puzzled as he looked up at her.

Darcy giggled. "I just wanted to know," she said with a shrug. "It's okay if you rather not say."

"Yes, I have."

Darcy's stomach knotted up; she was hoping his answer was going to be 'no.' The image of him sitting in the front row, tucking dollar bills into some chick's thong did not sit well with her. "Like-"

"It was for work, Darcy. Undercover mission. Years ago. I don't hang out at strip joints on my off days." Phil smirked.

Okay, that made her feel a lot better. She could deal with that. "So you never had a lap dance?"

"Can't say that I have," he closed his mouth and swallowed a little lump that was forming in the back of his throat. He wasn't totally sure where this conversation was going, but he had a faint idea.

And it made his palms begin to sweat.

"Would you like one?" Darcy grinned, taking his hands in hers.

"Right now?" He certainly didn't expect anything like this when he got home tonight. "Why?" he asked.

Darcy squeezed his hands and smiled. "You seem super stressed. You need to unwind and clear your head. Let me help you with that ..." she winked. After the day she had, she needed to unwind a bit herself, and doing dirty things to Agent Coulson would certainly relax her. "We still got like forty minutes before we eat. And isn't it better to have your dessert before dinner?"

He wanted to start gushing to her how amazing she was. There was no way in hell that he deserved someone as beautiful and incredible as her. He still didn't understand why she wanted to have anything to do with a middle aged man who spent most of his time obsessing over work. "It's always better," his voice cracked a bit.

"Don't be nervous. Sit back and relax, baby ..." Darcy said slinking her hand around his shoulder until she was behind him again. She had never given a guy a lap dance before, but she had watched plenty of videos on how to do one with the intentions of giving one to a boyfriend someday. Darcy reached over and dimmed the light, not making it so dark that they would struggle to see each other, but just enough to set the mood. She pressed play on her iPod radio and soft music filled the room. Okay, so she had this planned out since she got home, she just wasn't sure how she was going to go about making it happen.

Him being stressed was the perfect excuse to do it.

He was supposed to be unwinding not the other way around, but as soon as Darcy blew cool air into his ear, his heart stopped beating and his whole body went stiff. Her fingertips went from his ear down his neck, stroking ever so softly. She trailed them over his jaw, and finally his body started to loosen up. He closed his eyes when she ran her hands through his hair and then slid her hand around to the front of him again.

"That good, baby?" she whispered. He nodded, and she smiled at him before moving on him so that she was straddling his lap. She could feel the heat radiating between them and she placed a chaste kiss on his lips, pulling away before he had the chance to kiss her back. "No kissing ..." she said as she pulled her tank top off; tossing it to the floor.

He had expected her to be wearing a sexy bra under her shirt, not to be totally nude. He took a deep breath as he took in the sight of her; seeing her in full light for the first time.

"Do I have to pay you?" Phil asked, raising his eyebrow and giving her a smirk. "That's how these things work, correct?"

"Tell you what, agent. The first one is on the house," she said as she began to gently grind up on him. Darcy placed her hands on his shoulder and pulled him into her so that her breasts flattened out against his chest. She rubbed herself on him, keeping in time with the music; biting her lip seductively as she looked into his eyes. She grinned when she saw the faint pinkness creep along his cheeks. "You're so adorable when you blush," she whispered as she began to play with the buttons on his shirt. Every time she popped one open, she placed a little kiss on the exposed skin of his chest.

"Darcy ..." he moaned softly when she started to move her hips on him a bit harder this time. He reached up, placing his hands on her waist and began to move them upward.

"Hands off," Darcy grinned, moving his hands off of her. "No touching. It's against the rules." She took his glasses off and put them on herself.

The sight of her in his glasses made him go hard instantly.

"Maybe you should have handcuffed me then," he whispered with a little smirk playing on his lips.

"Mmm ...  _Kinky_." Darcy really liked where this was going now. "Do you have handcuffs here?"

"Upstairs in my office. Black bag on the desk."

"Do you think you can behave yourself or are you going to continue to be a naughty boy, Agent Coulson?" she whispered into his ear; her heart was really racing now.

"I don't think you can trust me not to touch you," he smirked, and then ran his hands up her body again.

She gave him a warning look and then slapped his hands away from her playfully. "Well, then I'm just going to have to make sure that you don't," she said with a wink, and then climbed off his lap. "Stay. Here. I'll be right back."

"Oh, I'm not going anywhere, angel."

The minute she stepped away the phone began to vibrate on the desk. Both of them looked at it and watched as it vibrated again. Darcy was already mentally smashing it with a hammer; it was like S.H.I.E.L.D knew that they were starting to get sexy with each other. Phil sighed and shook his head before answering the phone on the fifth vibrate.

"Agent Coulson," he said into the phone; he kept his eyes locked on Darcy, giving her a grin that said that as soon as he hung up the phone that they could resume their activities. "Go ahead," he said into the phone.

Darcy leaned up against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. She was freezing and wanted to get back on Phil ASAP so that they could start warming each other up again. Not to mention that she couldn't wait to get him all tied up. That was a delicious vision in her head.

"Why is that?" he spoke into the phone; his brows furrowed slightly. He stood up and started to pace back and forth. "I understand. Alright, thank you, Agent Hill." Phil snapped his phone shut and tossed it on the desk.

This didn't look good.

"Um ... so I'm guessing kinky fun time is over?" Darcy was already putting her tank top back on. She never did like Maria Hill; she really, really didn't like her now.

Phil nodded, rubbing his head slightly. "We're to wait for direction from Director Fury." He sat down on the chair and started to button his shirt back up.

"Phil, what is it? What's going on?"

Phil shook his head. "We're being reassigned."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love it? Hate it? Let me know how I'm doing with a comment!


	12. Running Out of Time

There was nothing more that Phil hated than being pulled out of a mission. He liked to see things through all the way to the end; to finish a job before moving onto the next one. Why they were being pulled off this one really boggled his mind, especially since Fury was so eager for them to figure out what was happening in this town. There was definitely something happening here, something very weird and to leave before they figured out what it was really made him mad.

"She didn't say when he was going to call?" Darcy asked as she cleared their dinner plates away. They had been waiting for over an hour and half now, and so far they haven't heard a word from Fury or anyone else.

Phil looked up from the mission file. "No, she just said that he'd be contacting us shortly."

Darcy flopped down on the couch next to Phil with a loud sigh. "They can't pull us off this, Phil. There is too much weirdness going on here. Annie's mom is sick now and what about that weird hair you found? We're getting close to something, I just know it." She reached over and took a file from Phil and began to flip through it. "Um, did you ever check for bugs in the house?"

"Bugs?" He looked up and smirked. "You mean like cockroaches?"

Darcy chuckled. "No, you know what I mean. Like, spy bugs or whatever the correct term is."

"Worried S.H.I.E.L.D caught us getting our freak on?" he teased.

"Maybe that's why we're being reassigned?" Darcy tipped her head on his shoulder and giggled. "Getting our freak on? That just sounded so wrong coming from you."

Phil chuckled. "There was nothing. I checked the first night we were here," he replied, kissing the top of her head. "Nothing like that to worry about."

"Good," she said closing her eyes for a minute and then looking up at the clock. "It's almost ten-thirty. This wait is killing me ..." She would have suggested that they make out while they wait but he probably wasn't in the mood, and honestly, neither was she. Her stomach was knotted up with anticipation and worry.

Phil picked up his phone, looked at it, and then set it back down on the arm of the couch. "I can't think of any other assignments in the pipe that may take precedence over this one. Not any that I'm assigned to anyhow."

"That's it! I'm calling Clint," Darcy said grabbing her phone from her bag.

"Barton?" Phil raised his eyebrow.

"Yep. His ears always seem to pick up on gossip," she said putting the phone up to her ear. He's gotta know something." She listened to the ringing on the other end hoping Clint would pick up. It was too early for him to be in bed yet; the only reason that he might not pick up is if he's at work or with a girl. She watched as Phil got up and walked into the kitchen.

"Darce?" Clint answered after a few rings.

She shifted on the couch a bit and moved the phone to her ear. "Clint!" They haven't spoken in a while and to hear his voice again just sent all kinds of happiness through her. "Hey, hows it going?"

"Good. Wasn't expecting a call from you." He sounded sort of distant, like he was busy doing something.

"Is this a bad time? I'm not interrupting sexy times or anything, am I?" Darcy asked.

"No-no, I'm just finishing up some stuff at work."

"You're still there?" she asked.

"Yep. I just got my next assignment. I'm just sitting here, reading through all this shit." She could hear him rustling some papers around. "So how's married life treating you?"

He sounded back to his regular self now.

"It's great. I have the best hubby ever." There was so much she wanted to tell him about her and Phil.

"Really?" She could tell he was smirking. "Care to elaborate?"

Not with Phil in the other room; Darcy had no doubt in her mind that he was probably eavesdropping. "Hey, you haven't heard anything around the HQ about Phil and I being possibly being reassigned, have you?"

There was silence on the other line.

"Clint?"

"Uh, yeah." There was another long pause before he started to speak again. "I heard something about that."

"Well, what is it?" Darcy asked. "We've been waiting for almost two hours for Fury to call us. So if you know something-"

"Word on the street is that Fury is sending a small team to Bagalia. I heard he wants Coulson to head it up."

Darcy scrunched her eyebrows. "I don't know what Bagalia is? I've never heard of it."

"You can ask Phil about it. Listen, Darce ... I'm not even supposed to know about any of this ..."

"Did you hear anything about me going?" Darcy asked.

"I would assume that you wouldn't be. I don't know exactly who is going on it other than Phil and Natasha." She heard him start up his car. "I'd guess that Fury is sending a small group of our top agents. Phil, Nat, McAvoy, maybe Sitwell. I'm hoping I get put on it. I am the best shot S.H.I.E.L.D's got after all."

"Well, I don't think it's fair that they're pulling us out of our current mission." Darcy leaned to the side of the couch to see if she could see what Phil was up to.

"I've been pulled out of a lot of missions to be put on other ones. It happens. It's like Coulson's biggest pet peeve though. I'm sure he's pissed." There was more silence and then Clint chuckled. "So, I don't mean to keep asking, but how are things really going between you two? I just keep getting this vibe from you, like, things are  _really_  good. Did you happen to use that little gift I dropped in that card?"

Darcy rolled her eyes. He was going to keep harping on it until she told him everything. "I think you already know the answer," she whispered.

More silence.

" _Damn._ Really? Like for real?" Clint sounded shocked. "You and Coulson ... like ...got sexy ... together?"

"I can't talk about it now," she whispered even more quietly than before. "I gotta get going. Talk to you soon."

"Alright. Darcy ... just be careful, okay? I hope to see you soon."

"Hope so too. Love ya." Darcy hung up the phone and leaned back on the couch. Why did she tell him about her and Phil? Tonight of all nights probably wasn't the best time to do it. Something huge sounded like it was brewing at S.H.I.E.L.D; whatever this Bagalia thing was had Clint on edge. She could just tell by how his voice was tonight; he sounded distant like his mind was elsewhere. Damn it, she had already broke one of Phil's rules of them keeping their relationship secret. She knew Clint wouldn't say anything or report them, he wouldn't do that ... but still.

"Hey," Darcy called out. "What's Bagalia?"

A second later Phil emerged from the kitchen with a two cookies in his hand and his eyebrows scrunched together. "Bagalia?" he repeated, handing a cookie to Darcy and then sat down next to her.

"Clint heard something about you possibly being reassigned to Bagalia. Maybe with the Black Widow and a few others. He didn't exactly sat what Bagalia was though. He said for me to ask you about it. So ... what the hell is it?

Phil shifted in his seat. "It's a nation ruled by criminals and super villains. It's hidden, and you definitely won't hear about it in the media. I was in charge of a mission there about seven years ago. It's not exactly a fun place to go to."

"Let's see ... a nation made up of criminals and super villains. Nope. Doesn't sound like it would be a vacation destination. It sounds-"

Phil's phone buzzed and he grabbed it. "Coulson." He answered.

Darcy scooted up on the couch more, her heart pounding in her chest. She mouthed the word 'Fury' to Phil, and he nodded yes.

"I understand," Phil's voice had a bit of an edge to it. He stood up, and starting to pace back and forth in the living room. "If we're not shipping out for a while let me and Agent Lewis have a little more time to figure this mission out. I know. But, you also know how much I hate being pulled off a mission, Nick. I just sent a sample over to the labs a few hours ago, if it comes back as a squirrel then you can pull us out. We've already invested over a month into this, and I want to see it through! Yeah, well I don't really care."

Darcy pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and covered herself up. Phil was arguing with Fury over the phone. No one argued with Fury, unless you wanted to possibly disappear off the face of the earth. One time Darcy gave Fury a little attitude and he gave her a look that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

"Give Agent Lewis and I two weeks to finish this mission. Nick, I understand the importance of the Bagalia mission, but since I'm already familiar with the terrain-" Phil was silent as he listened to Fury. "Yessir, and thank you." He hung up the phone and then nodded at Darcy.

"Are we still being reassigned?" she asked.

"We're going to be pulled out in two weeks, but at least we're not being pulled out tomorrow like they planned. Two weeks is still more than enough time to close this case."

"Can I just say that you arguing with Fury was fuckin' hot?" Darcy grinned.

Phil smirked. "If he wasn't my best friend, then I wouldn't have."

Darcy's mouth dropped open. "Say what? You and Fury are best buddies? I didn't think Fury  _had_  friends. Of course, I didn't think you had friends either..."

"Wow, you really did think little of me didn't you?" Phil set his phone down on the desk. "We've know each other since the army."

"You were in the army?" She was learning all kinds of things about Coulson tonight.

"United States army ranger."

"You're fucking turning me on right now," Darcy fanned herself. "Not only am I with a badass level 7 S.H.I.E.L.D agent, but now I find out that I'm with a badass level 7 S.H.I.E.L.D agent who was also a badass US army ranger? Holy fuck, I really won the jackpot!"

Phil shook his head and chuckled. "Fury and I were recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D at the same time. We went different routes though. He was always more of the leader type. I was better at military tactical and recruiting."

"Who ever recruited me into S.H.I.E.L.D sure made a mistake," Darcy joked.

"I never make mistakes."

Darcy looked at Phil and blinked several times before she said anything. "You were the one that wanted to bring me into the agency?"

Phil nodded. "With you background in Political Science and computers, you seemed like a perfect fit. Not to mention that you're tough as nails and don't take crap from nobody. We need people like that in S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Why didn't you ever tell me? I mean, I didn't even think you liked me before this mission," Darcy's head was spinning.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "Of course, I liked you. I've always had faith in you as an agent. I still do. I will admit, that some times you spend a bit too much time goofing off with Barton, but you still have what it takes to be a kick ass agent."

Darcy smiled. "Thanks," she said with pure sincerity instead of her usual snark. This man was more and more amazing every second she spent with him. He believed in her, and that's one of the things she set out to accomplish; falling for each other was just an added bonus. "So two weeks? Okay, so we really need to get our butts in gear and figure what the hell is going on here. I'm going over to the Martin's tomorrow." Darcy put her finger up to her lip and tapped it; deep in thought. "Annie knows something ... her parents know she knows something, and they don't want her talking about it. I mean, I don't know for sure, but I have that gut feeling."

Phil sat down next to Darcy and pulled her against him, kissing her shoulder. "I wasn't invited back on the lumber crew. I guess, they thought I did a lousy job spray painting trees. I was thinking about going into town tomorrow to snoop around there. I might even stop at the sheriffs department."

"Ugh, creepy-ass Sheriff Dunham." Darcy played with the buttons on Phil's shirt, looking up at him with a playful smile. "I suppose, picking up where we left off is not in the cards for tonight?" she asked hopefully.

Phil chuckled. "It's pretty late ..."

Darcy pouted. After everything he told her tonight, there was nothing more she wanted to do than have him make love to her. Make love? Yeah, she was falling really hard for him.

Phil chuckled and then placed a kiss on her cheek. "You have to remember that our time has been cut on this mission, Darcy. Every moment needs to count."

"I know ..." she said quietly; smiling gently at him. "You ... you liked it, right?"

He grinned. "The lap dance? I loved it," he said wrapping his arms around her. "I'm hoping that maybe you'll give me another one some time?"

Darcy grinned. "Yessir." She kissed the tip of his nose and they both fell silent for a few moments. Darcy snuggled up as close as she could to Phil, resting her head against his chest; breathing in his scent; feeling the rise and fall of his breaths. "Was Clint right then? Are you being assigned to the Bagalia mission?" She felt him nodded yes, and then his arms went tighter around her.

"How bad is it?" She kind of feared the answer but couldn't help but ask.

There was a long pause before he spoke. "I want to tell you that it's going to be an in and out mission, but I don't want to lie to you," he said quietly. She could tell he didn't want to get into detail with it because he quickly changed the subject. "We should probably get some rest, sweetheart."

"Yeah, sounds like a good idea." She stood up and started to walk but Phil caught her and scooped her up in his arms.

"Let me carry you."

"Ugh, you are so sweet."

"Not always," he said carrying her up the stairs and into the bedroom.

"To me you are. You treat me better than any other guy I've ever been with," she said sleepily as he set her down on the bed. It was the truth though, Darcy usually picked really bad boyfriends. They either cheated on her; took advantage of her; just wanted her for sex. None of them ever treated her as kind as Phil did. She propped herself up on her arm and looked at him as he sat down on the bed next to her. "You sure you don't want to have sex tonight?"

He reached for the light and then stopped to look over at her; his lip curling up slightly. "Always on your mind, huh?"

"If you mean since the other night with you, then yes!" she giggled.

"It's not that I don't want to ..."

"Because we don't have any source of protection?" Darcy rolled over onto her back just as Phil switched off the light.

"It's a good reason not to," he said putting his arm around her.

There was silence.

"You could ... use the pull out method," Darcy said; she felt her throat tighten up. The minute she said it she felt kind of embarrassed. Thank god it was dark in the room.

"What?"

Darcy was silent again. Did he really not know what that was? "It's ... it's when you-"

"No. I know what it is-"

"Oh, thank god! I thought, I was going to have to give a step by step Sex Ed. talk on birth control," Darcy said with a relieved laugh.

"I'm just ... surprised you trust me enough to do that."

"What's the matter, Agent? Don't think you have enough self-control?" Darcy teased. When he didn't say anything in response she sighed. "Is this getting too weird for you? Am I ... pushing this ... this thing we have going between to fast? I don't want to push you away," she babbled quickly.

"You're not. Not at all," he said, shifting a bit in bed so that he was close to her neck. He loved whatever body wash she used; it smelled like cotton candy or gummy bears ... something really sweet and girly. He nuzzled his face close to her and breathed in her scent. "I love that you have an intimate trust with me," he whispered.

Darcy smiled in the darkness. "I feel like there's a 'but' coming on?"

"We just need to be careful here. I just don't mean sexually ... If we want to try to have a relationship, we need to be extra careful. We have to make sure that we stay on track. Nothing between us can seem out of the ordinary. We can't compromise our work."

It was things that he had said the other night but was just reiterating on them again. Making sure that she really, really understood how this relationship needed to be played out. "I understand. I just can't help that you're so damn sexy. You know that when we're back at the HQ that I'm going to be mentally peeling your suit off you," she grinned.

"You're pretty damn sexy too. Hottest girlfriend I ever had," he kissed her neck softly. "And I promise, that when we're alone that I will commit a hundred percent of myself to you."

Darcy's grin grew bigger and her whole body felt amazing. "Girlfriend?"

"Am I the one being too pushy now?" he asked between more kisses.

"Can I call you my boyfriend?" she asked slipping her hand under his t-shirt; tickling her fingers lightly on his chest, making him flinch.

"Of course," He chuckled. "Although, I'm a bit past being a  _boy_."

"Well, I am not calling you my  _manfriend,"_ she laughed. She sighed lightly as she felt his lips suck gently on the little part where her neck and shoulder met. "Mmm ... you really have a talented mouth ..."

"Darcy, you are so beautiful," he whispered. "I consider myself a very lucky man."

"God, please stop! You're killing me with your sweetness," she giggled, playfully shoving him away. He really did need to stop because unlike him, she did not have very good control over her desires. At any second now, she could pounce on him and that would be it.

"Alright, I'll stop," he said with a quick kiss to her forehead before he shifted back to his own pillow. "Goodnight, angel."

Darcy smiled. "Night, baby." Darcy closed her eyes and rolled over to her side. Her stomach still felt quite uneasy; she kept trying to push whatever this new mission Phil was going to be sent on out of her thoughts. Concentrate on this mission first; worry about that one when the time comes, she kept telling herself that over and over.

They hadn't been silent more than five minutes when the most bloodcurdling, animalistic howl came from outside in the direction of the woods between their house and the Cedar's.

Darcy and Phil both shot up straight up in bed at the same time. Her heart racing, and she gripped onto the sheets so tightly that she could feel her fingertips going numb.

"Okay," she whispered breathlessly. "What the  _hell_  was that?!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bagalia is a real place with in the Marvel 616 universe
> 
> The comic version of Coulson was an Army Ranger with Nick Fury before joining S.H.I.E.L.D. They are also friends.
> 
> I wanted to mix those facts into my story.


	13. And the Plot Thickens

"No, for real ... what the _fuck_ was that?" Darcy whispered, her eyes wide and her fingers still gripping the sheets. Neither she or Phil had moved for several moments after the howl shook through their bedroom. Whatever was out there didn't sound like anything she had ever heard. It sounded like a howl mixed with a snarl and something else that Darcy couldn't describe. She could still hear it though in her head; she didn't ever think that she'd ever forget that sound for as long as she lived. "Phil?"

"I don't know," Phil said quietly as he got up out of bed and slipped a pair of pants on. He moved towards the window, pushing the curtain back and opening the window. "Sounded like some kind of animal though," he said as he crouched down and poked his head out the window.

The chilly air made Darcy shiver, and she hugged her arms around herself as she watched Phil. "A big angry animal. A big hungry angry animal," she said. Phil stood up and she watched him walk out the room and return a few seconds later with a rifle and a pair of night vision binoculars.

"What are you doing?" Darcy asked as she tip toed over to Phil and knelt down next to him.

"Going out there. I want to see if I can find out what that was," he said looking through the binoculars out towards the woods.

Darcy glanced down at the gun and then to Phil. A gun probably couldn't protect them from whatever that thing was out there. The thought of him going out there tracking the thing made her stomach twist up. "Like hell you are! That thing out there sounded like it could tear a person to shreds," she said placing her hands on her hips.

Phil smirked and looked up at her. "Darcy, I have to go out there and investigate. I'll be careful. I promise." He stood up and began to walk towards the door.

He was a S.H.I.E.L.D agent, and Darcy was forgetting that. She was a S.H.I.E.L.D agent, and she had forgotten that for a moment as well. It was their job to go out there and figure out what made that noise. It could be the answer to this whole mission they were on. Still, she couldn't help but be a bit scared of Phil going out there. "Can't you just wait? We haven't heard it in a few minutes so maybe it moved off. Lets just go back to bed and if we hear it again, then we can both go out there and play animal tracker." Darcy walked over to Phil and took his hand. "Please?"

He paused for a moment and then sighed. "Okay, Darcy." He squeezed her hand slightly as they both walked back over to the bed and laid down. He rolled over on his side towards the window; straining his hearing for anything out of ordinary. Darcy wrapped her arm around him and placed a kiss on his back. He felt tense; ready to jump up at any given moment, but at least he was here in bed with her and not out there hunting that thing.

There were no more howls or snarls, but neither of them slept at all that night.

 

* * *

 

Phil had got up at the first sign of dawn to go outside and check out the area where the noise came from. It had taken Darcy a few hours to fall asleep after the howl, so he didn't bother waking her to come out here with him. Honestly, it had taken him a lot to pull himself out of bed this morning as well. It had been a long time since he slept with a woman, and he enjoyed the feeling of them snuggled up together that he didn't want to leave her arms.

He stopped just at the edge of the woods and squinted his eyes, trying to see if there was anything in there before he entered. His gun was in easy access in the top pocket of his vest, ready to be grabbed at an instant. That howl could have been anything, most certainly an animal. There was not a doubt in his mind that it was. He crouched down next to an old stump and brushed his hand over the damp ground moving some dead leaves out of the way. The ground was wet enough so if there was something out here last night it would have left tracks. He stood up when he noticed a large imprint in the ground just near where he was. He pulled his cell phone out and took a picture of it, later he'd do some research on it and see if he could figure out what type of animal made it.

"Bingo," he said quietly as he observed the tracks. It was like a dog paw print but much larger. He stood up and followed the tracks just through the woods until they stopped at the edge of the woods near the Cedar's house. Outside of the woods there was nothing. It was like whatever was here had just disappeared. Phil turned around to head back home, when a small tuft of reddish brown hair caught his eye. He picked it up and rubbed it between his fingers. It was the same hair that he had found down by the logging site.

 

* * *

 

"Phil, is that you?" Darcy called from the kitchen when she heard the front door open up.

"Yep," Phil said as he entered the kitchen holding the hair up for Darcy to see. "I found more of that same hair out in the woods. This time though they were accompanied by tracks." He sat down at the kitchen table.

"Tracks? What kind of tracks?" Darcy asked, handing Phil a cup of coffee.

"Thanks, sweetie," he took a sip of his coffee and then flipped open his phone. "These tracks."

"Oh shit! Those are huge," Darcy said taking the phone to get a better look at them. "What do you think made that? A bear?"

"Bears don't howl," Phil smirked. "And they look more like dog prints, don't they?"

Darcy nodded. "Yeah, but, dude, that's one big ass dog!" She dumped a pile of scrambled eggs and placed some toast on a plate and handed it to Phil.

"Wolves howl though, right?" Phil said, shoveling a forkful of eggs into his mouth.

Darcy sat down across from him and shrugged, taking a bite of her breakfast. "Yeah, but those are pretty big for a wolf. I suppose it could be though, I mean, it makes the most sense."

Phil nodded. "I think I'll ask Sheriff Dunham today if there has been any wolf sightings in the area."

"And I'll ask Barbara if she and Ken heard anything last night. I mean if we heard it, chances are they heard it too," Darcy said as they both finished up their food. "Remember, I'm going over to the Martin's after camp today, so I might not be back until later."

Phil nodded and then walked over to Darcy and placed a kiss on top of her head. "Have a good day. Call me if you find anything out."

Darcy smiled and pulled on his shirt to pull him closer to her.  She kissed him on the lips and grinned. "You too, Agent Hottie."

 

* * *

 

"Hey, sorry I'm late," Darcy said quietly as she walked into the classroom. All the kids were quietly working on painting milk cartons ... they were being quiet for once, and that was a total shocker to Darcy. She walked over to Barbara and smiled. "Kids are being good. Yay!" she whispered.

Barbara nodded. "I know," she picked up a paintbrush and ran it under the sink to clean it off. "Melissa isn't here today, she called and said she had a migraine. I told her we could handle the kids," she said with a yawn.

"Oh, well, I hope she gets better. Migraines can be a total bitch," Darcy said, wiping up some spilt water with a paper towel. She watched as Barbara yawned again. "So, last night, Phil and I heard a really loud howl outside. In those woods that separate our houses. It freaked us out, and we couldn't fall back asleep. Did you and Ken hear it?"

Barbara shook her head. "No, we didn't hear anything. Ken snores so loud though, so I never hear anything but that," she laughed.

 

* * *

 

Phil made his way up the gravel walkway to the sheriff's office. It was more like an old house renovated into a sheriff's office, and Phil would bet that it also doubled as Sheriff Dunham's home. He pulled open the door knob and the door opened with a creak as he stepped inside. There was two desks inside, both vacant, and a holding cell off to the side. The whole placed looked like it belonged in an entirely different era, with all the old timey decor inside.

"Hello?" Phil said as he walked up to the front desk and dinged the brass bell. "Sheriff Dunham?" He glanced down at the pile of papers spread across the desk just as Dunham came out the back room eating an apple.

"Mr. Coulson?" he asked with a faint smile. "What brings you in?" He walked over to the desk and set his half eating apple on it before looking up and smiling a bit wider.

Phil nodded and smiled. "Just came here to see how small town law enforcement operated. Just getting some ideas for my book."

"Ah, yes ..." he said sitting down at his desk and then motioned for Phil to take a seat across from him. "Well, what you see here is pretty much it. Luckily this isn't a high crime area. Shady Oaks is a relativity quiet and peaceful. Really the only time I even use that holding cell is if someone get a bit belligerent down at Branson's. Usually one of the logging boys after one too many drinks," he laughed.

Phil chuckled. "Yeah, I know how that can be."

"Don't strike me as a trouble maker, Coulson."

"Not anymore," he laughed, watching Dunham pulled a brown paper lunch bag out from under his desk.

"You don't mind do you?" he asked as he unwrapped his sandwich. "It's just about my lunchtime."

"Not at all," Phil said with a fake yawn. "Sorry," he apologized.

Dunham took a bite of his food. "Didn't sleep well?"

Phil shook his head. "Both Darcy and I didn't sleep well at all. We heard some kind of weird animal noise last night out in the woods between our house and the Cedar's. Sounded like a howl. It kinda shook us up and we just couldn't fall back asleep," Phil said, watching Dunham open a thermos of soup.

"Yeah ..." Dunham said in a long drawn out breath. "We got some predator animals out in the woods. Mountain lions and wolves, sometimes a stray one comes down to town to look for food. Especially over at farmer John's. He's got sheep and chickens - you know ... an easy dinner," he said with a laugh.

"Well, they got a little too close for our comfort last night." At least, Dunham was admitting that there was something out there and not trying to cover it up.

"Probably a wolf if you said it howled." Dunham spooned some soup in his mouth. "I'd just be extra careful going outside in the evenings. Don't want you to go missing," he laughed again.

Phil raised his eyebrow. "Certainly not." He tried to smile but the way Dunham said it made Phil a bit uneasy. He definitely knew a lot more than he was letting on. "Do you think the animals have any connection to the missing men?"

Dunham slurped some soup into his mouth and then smirked. "You a book writer or a reporter, Coulson?" He paused a moment and then grinned. "Just teasing. Actually, I don't know. Maybe.  We never found the bodies or any evidence to connect the two together. The men simply just vanished as it would seem. So who told you about the men? Johnny? Carson Orrs?"

"I over heard something at Branson's last week. Not sure who it was from." Phil shrugged. He could tell that the sheriff was starting to tense up a bit because he put down his soup spoon and tapped his fingers against his knee. He was getting up now, walking over to the trash can and tossing his half eaten sandwich in it.

"I'm suspecting that maybe the men just skipped town. They all were outsiders that came to work for Jack Martin over at the logging site." Dunham walked back over to his desk and stood next to it and looked down at Phil. "And you know how Jack can be. He likes to talk big and bark out orders. Not exactly an easy man to work for."

Oh, I know. I spent yesterday at the site working for him. He's a hard man but knows how to get the job done." Phil stood up, he figured since Dunham wasn't sitting back down that it was his cue to leave.

"Well, I'd love to chat some more, Mr. Coulson but I have to make some rounds." He smiled politely and then placed his hands on his hips. "Tell Darcy I said hi."

"I will. Have a good rest of the day, sheriff," Phil said as he headed out the door. Dunham may have not told him much information but it was enough for him to know that those men didn't just skip town. Whatever happened to them, Dunham knew and he wasn't telling.

 

* * *

 

Darcy hurried to get cleaned up after camp was over to get over to the Martin's house. She hoped that she could talk to Annie and find out how her mom was. She also was going to ask her more about the monster in the woods that she had mentioned before. Could this monster be the same thing that made that horrific howl in the woods last night?

The Martin's lived on Wright Street in a small blue house that looked just as shitty as the one that she and Phil lived in, except worse. Carefully, Darcy opened the small gate and crept through the overgrown grass, being careful not to trip over on any of the old junk and rusty machinery that littered the yard. She felt sad for Annie as she walked up to the door. She was such a sweet little girl and to have to live in this dump really made her heart break. She rang the bell but realized that it didn't work, she knocked on the door instead. Darcy waited there for a few minutes hoping that Annie or someone would come to the door. Anybody but Jack. Every time Darcy saw him she wanted tase him. She blew an impatient breath out and tapped her foot before walking over to the broken front window with the plastic tapped over it. She pressed her face against one of the non broken panes to see if she could get a look of the inside of the house. It didn't look any better than the outside, from the dirty dishes to the laundry baskets filled with junk that sat on the raggedy furniture. Darcy walked back over to the door and knocked one last time. Just as she turned around to leave, Jack's pick up truck pulled into the driveway and Darcy groaned inwardly. Her taser was just under her jacket and she could whip it out at a moments notice if she needed it.

Hopefully, she wouldn't.

Jack got out of his truck and smiled up at Darcy as she came down the steps and into the yard. "Afternoon, Darcy." He walked up to her and gave her a once over with his eyes, which Darcy had to keep herself from kicking him in the balls.

"Hey, Jack," Darcy greeted him as nicely as she could. "I came here to see Annie, but I don't think she's here."

"My stepdaughter went to her friend's house for the night," he said with a grin, still not taking his eyes off her.

Stepdaughter? So Annie wasn't Jack's biological daughter? For some reason that seemed pertinent to the mission, she just wasn't sure why. "Oh okay," Darcy said with a nod, she didn't even want to ask about Lindsey since she wasn't supposed to know anything about that. "I was just going to drop some crayons and paper off for her since she's not in art camp anymore." She pulled out a plastic bag with supplies from her purse and handed it to Jack.

"Thanks, I'll be sure she gets these," he smiled as his eyes flicked up to the house and then back to Darcy. "Would you like to come inside for a drink? It's awfully hot out here."

_Inside that dirty dump? No thanks._ Actually it wouldn't probably be a bad idea; she could snoop around inside, maybe find out where Lindsey was, but it just didn't feel right to her. She didn't want to go in there alone and she wouldn't think Phil would want her to either. "Um, actually, I better get going home to see what Phil wants for dinner tonight. Thanks though." She started to walk away but Jack caught her by the waist with his hand.

He looked at her hungrily. "Thanks for the art stuff, Darcy. That was so sweet and generous of you, and I'm sure Annie will love it," he said. He let his hand linger on her waist for a moment before he let go.

She wanted to hit him; she wanted to tase his ass and let him drool into the ground while she tap danced all over his back, but she couldn't. Something about the way he was looking at her, paralyzed her with a fear that she never felt before. "I gotta go," she said quickly and then hurried away from Jack as quickly as she could without making it look like she was running away from him.

 

* * *

 

"Oh my god," Darcy said as she opened the front door and walked inside the house. Phil was sitting on the couch with his laptop, looking through different types of animal tracks.

He looked up at her and took his glasses off. "Darcy? You look shaken, what's wrong?" He shut the top of his computer and set it down on the coffee table. He put his arm around her when she sat down next to him. "What happened?" he asked in a concerned voice.

"I went over to Annie's after camp but she wasn't there. And talk about a dump! There was so much junk and shit all over the place, that it made the trailer that I lived in with my mother and her boyfriend at the time look like the Buckingham Palace," she said with a shake of her head. "Just as I was about to leave Jack pulled into the driveway. I asked him if he knew where Annie was and he said- get this -that his stepdaughter was at a friends house for the night.  _Stepdaughter._ Last time he mentioned her to me she said daughter, now I find out that she's not really his daughter at all. I don't know why this is striking me as odd, but it is for some reason." She paused, not wanting to go into the detail about Jack putting his hand on her waist.

Phil raised his eyebrow. "Is there more?"

"Don't you find that weird?" Darcy could tell that he knew that she was hiding something from him.

"Could be. But lots of people have stepchildren. It's not uncommon." His eyes searched her face. "What else his bothering you, Darcy?"

"I almost tased his ass," she said with a laugh, trying to make it seem like she wasn't bothered at all. "Just as I was getting ready to leave, he asked if I wanted to come in for a drink-"

"You didn't go in did you?" Phil asked.

"No-"

"Good. I have specific orders not to allow you to put yourself in dangerous situations," he said in a stony cold voice just tinged with worry; his eyes narrowed and darkened.

She had planned on telling him that Jack had grabbed her waist but when she saw the look on Phil's face, she decided not to. No sense in getting him all worked up when nothing really happened. It's not like Phil would go tearing out of here all hell-bent on punching Jack for touching her ... at least she didn't think he would. He still looked pissed though, and Darcy thought maybe she should change the subject before he did find out that Jack made a move on her. "So, uh ... no news from S.H.I.E.L.D on the hair analysis? What about the tracks? Did you find anything in the database that matches them?"

Phil shook his head. "Nothing came back yet on the sample." His facial features were softening and returning back to normal. "I talked to Sheriff Dunham this morning. I mentioned that we heard a howl last night and he said that it could have been a mountain lion or a wolf-"

"Which would make sense," Darcy said taking the laptop and opening it back up. There were different types of animal tracks on the page but none of them were exactly like the ones that Phil had taken a picture of. "None of these are it," Darcy said with a frown.

"This one is the closest but smaller." He pointed to the image on the screen.

"A grey wolf?" Darcy asked, looking up at Phil. "I guess that would explain the howl and you said Dunham said there were wolves around here. Ugh, so what are we back to square one? Does this wolf thing have any connection to the case?"

"I also asked Dunham about the missing men," Phil said putting his arm around Darcy, which she happily snuggled into him. "He tensed up and got almost nervous about it. Said that all the men were working at the logging site with Jack, and that they probably skipped town because of how demeaning Jack is towards his employees."

"That sounds like a crock of shit," Darcy said with a snort and a shake of her head. "So, we're supposed to believe that five men left Shady Oaks without telling anyone because they couldn't stand Jack? Did you ask him why all the men were in their forties and had blue eyes?"

"The thought crossed my mind but I didn't want to sound like some sort of nosey spy," he said with a smirk.

Darcy giggled. "Which would be blowing your cover." She closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest while he went back to skimming through animal tracks.

"Did Jack say anything about his wife?" Phil asked.

"Huh?" Darcy said sleepily. She had almost dozed off, which was easy to do when your boyfriend's chest was like the most comfortable 'pillow' ever.

"Jack's wife?"

"Oh ..." Darcy said with a yawn. "Nope, nothing. That's why I was half tempted to go inside the house. I wanted to see if she was in there. Obviously, though, if he invited me in he must not have anything to hide. God, I really wish I knew what the fuck was going on. Nothing is making sense."

"We'll get to the bottom of it," Phil said placing a kiss on her forehead before going back to the computer screen. Darcy snuggled back into him and shut her eyes while he worked. They stayed silent; Darcy sleeping and Phil working for almost two hours until Darcy's stomach growled.

"Hungry ..." she mumbled, eyes still shut.

"What's that, angel-tits?" Phil asked, as he busily typed an update report to send to Director Fury.

Darcy stirred. "I'm hungry, I said." She rubbed her eyes and then furrowed her brows slightly. "Wait ... did you just call me ... angel-tits?"

Phil looked down at her and smirked as he shut the laptop.

"You did!" she giggled. "You are such a nerd." She playfully hit his chest and then bent up to place a little kiss on his jaw.

"Is that a bad thing?" he asked, arching his eyebrow.

"Nope, totally adorkable. Your nerdy side is a total turn on for me. Gets me all hot and makes me want to do terrible things to you!" Her stomach grumbled again and she started to stand up. "But not until after I've been fed. What do you want for dinner? I think we still have some hamburger left. I can do a meatloaf or stuffed peppers," she asked stretching her arms over her head and standing up on her tip toes.

"Or we could go out?" he suggested.

"To Branson's? You want to do some super secret detective work, don't you? Find out from the locals if they've seen or heard anything suspicious?"

"That, and it's ten cent wing night," he grinned.

"Beers and wings?" Darcy smiled back.

"Beers and wings, baby." Phil nodded, still with the same goofy grin on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love it? Hate it? Let me know how I'm doing with a comment!


	14. Now We're Getting Somewhere

Darcy's objective before going out to Branson's with Phil was to find something to wear. Something sexy. She really wasn't the sexy kind of dresser, though. Usually her everyday wear consisted of jeans or leggings with a t-shirt and sweater and a pair of tall boots. And a hat; Darcy loved hats. But tonight she wanted to dress up for her man; she wanted to be sexy for him, except finding sexy clothes in her wardrobe was going to be a chore. She groaned as she pulled out her Hello Kitty t-shirt from her closet, it was definitely not going to work for this occasion. She shook her head and hung it back up, and then began to riffle through the clothes hangers again. There had to be something in here. Just as she was about to settle on a t-shirt that said 'Getting Lucky in Kentucky,' she found the perfect shirt. A black sequined tank top; she paired it with skinny jeans and a bright blue clutch. She knew she couldn't wear her boots with the outfit so she decided to give heels a go again. Hopefully, this time she'd have better luck in walking in them.

"Darcy?" Phil called from the bottom of the stairs. "You ready yet?"

"On my way," she replied as she came down the stairs, slowly. She couldn't risk tumbling down on her ass. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she greeted him with a sly grin. "So ... what you think? It's not something I'd usually wear."

"Sexy mama," Phil said with a smirk. He had changed his clothes as well: A navy blue v-neck t-shirt and a pair of jeans with a well worn brown leather jacket. He looked absolutely amazing. He looked her up and down approvingly, and reached for her hand. "You're wearing heels? I thought you hated heels?"

"Yeah, I do, but I couldn't wear flip flops or boots with the outfit. It would ruin the whole effect. She glanced down at the tiny bit of chest hair that was peeking out of his shirt, and licked her lips. If she learned only one thing from this whole undercover operation, it was that chest hair was a major turn on for her. Also, those black framed glasses of his.

_Damn those fucking glasses to hell._

"You look hot," Darcy said with a smile as they walked to the door.

Phil laughed.

"What?" Darcy said as she turned around to look at him. "What's so funny?"

"I'm not used to being called hot," he said opening the door.

"Have you looked at yourself in the mirror, Coulson?" Darcy asked with her lips twisted up in a smile. "You are one hot motherfucker."

That made him draw out another hardy laugh, and he shook his head. "C'mon, I'm starving." He motioned for Darcy to go first and then he stepped through, shutting the door and wrapping his arm around his girlfriend as they walked to the car.

 

* * *

 

"Did I mention how much I love this car?" Darcy said, running her hand over leather interior. "How long have you had it?"

"I've had Lola for a couple of years," Phil said as he flipped on the headlights and pulled out of the driveway, headed towards Branson's. It was a nice night out; not too cold and not too hot; just the perfect evening to go out and grab a bite to eat.

And keep a S.H.I.E.L.D ear out for anything out of the ordinary.

Darcy nodded, and then turned her head to look at all the little houses they passed. "Wait ..." Darcy turned her head back after a second. "Did you say Lola? You named your car? What a nerd! Jesus, Coulson!" she said in a teasing voice.

If it hadn't been so dark out she would have saw him blush. "Lots of cars have names. Kit, Christine, Herbie-"

Darcy laughed. "Lola sounds like a hooker!"

"Hey!"

Darcy giggled and then went silent again for a moment before she looked over at him and bit her bottom lip playfully, which made him raise an eyebrow. "Maybe ... we could have a threesome sometime? You, me, and ...  _Lola_  ..."

"Mmm ..." he said quietly.

She reached over and rested her hand against his leg, hoping that she wasn't being too distracting. "I could lean against Lola with my breasts against her and you could take me from behind or I could lay down on her and you get on top of me, ya' know, sandwich me in between you and her ..." she purred, letting her hand creep up towards his groin slowly. She could feel his hardness against the palm of her hand, and she rubbed gently, eliciting a small breathy moan from him.

"Darcy," he said in low whisper, sliding her hand off of him.

She pulled her hand back quickly. "I'm sorry."

Phil glanced over at her, noticing that she looked a little upset. "Oh, sweetie, I didn't mean ..." he paused a moment, and then looked over at her and grinned. "You don't want me to go off the road, do you?"

"I thought maybe I was doing that pushy thing again," she whispered and then gave him a weak smile.

"Darce, you can put your hands on me any time you want."

"Except for in the car," she giggled. "And at work, right?"

He looked over at her just as they pulled into Branson's. "Let me at least park the car," he grinned. "And maybe we can sneak in something once in a while at work." He added with a small wink.

 

* * *

 

As they walked up the sidewalk to the bar, Darcy's heel got caught in a crack in the cement and she stumbled. "Shit!" she squeaked out as she fell forwards but Phil grabbed her just in time.

"Walk much?" he grinned opening the door for her.

"I wore these shoes for you. So ..." she gave him a look with her eyebrows raised and her lips pursed together.

"You know what I love about you, Darcy?" he asked as they walked over and found a booth in the back of the bar.

"My big bouncy breasts?" she asked jumping up and down slightly. Phil's eyes flicked down towards her chest and he licked his lips. "Scoot over," she giggled as she slid into the booth next to him.

"Well, that's a given, but also the way you're so carefree. You don't need to dress to impress. You've already got me," he smiled just as the waitress came over.

"Hey guys! The Coulson's right? I'm Kimberly, and I'll be taking care of you tonight," she smiled and took her notebook out of the front pocket or her apron. "So what can I get, ya?"

"Couple of beers and some wings," Phil said looking over at Darcy.

"And the nacho platter and the loaded potato skins," she said. "Oh, and the mozzarella sticks. And ...nah, that's enough."

"Dang girl, you pregnant?" Kimberly joked. Phil arched his eyebrow at Darcy and smirked. "I'm just joking. How many wings you want?"

"Twenty," Phil replied.

"Forty," Darcy said looking up at Kimberly.

"Alright, so I got two beers, forty wings, nacho platter, loaded potato skins, and mozzarella sticks. Anything else right now?"

"Nope, that's perfect." Darcy said.

"Okay, I'll get that right in for you, guys," Kimberly said and then walked away.

"Forty?" Phil said looking at Darcy with a wry grin.

"Oh, c'mon! They're like this big," she said taking her fingers and showing him how small they were. "They're probably going to be really shitty anyhow."

"At ten cents a wing, I can't imagine them being anything but," he agreed.

Darcy laughed. "She asked if I was pregnant. I'd be the worst mother ever! Oh my god, that would be such a fucking disaster," she said with a shake of her head.

Phil didn't say anything and looked down at the table. "I don't-"

"Here's your beers! Food will be out in a minute," Kimberly said placing the drinks in front of them.

"Thanks!" Darcy smiled taking a swig from the bottle. "What were you going to say?" she asked Phil after Kimberly walked away.

"Um, I don't remember," he said quickly, taking a sip of beer. He glanced over at the corner of bar and looked at Darcy. "Wanna play darts?"

"Hell ya! I'm a master of darts," Darcy said as she grabbed both their beers and they walked over to the dart board. Truthfully, Darcy sucked at darts. The last time she played was with Clint when they went out drinking and got totally trashed together. Even drunk he still managed to hit the bullseye almost every time. However, Darcy could barely hit the board even when she was sober. She couldn't wait to see how Phil played. Would he a total hotshot or just as bad as her? She watched him throw the first dart, hitting the bullseye dead center.

Of course.

Darcy threw her head back and groaned. "Ugh, are you kidding me?" She watched him throw his remaining darts, and then shook her head with a smirk. "Nice grouping, Coulson! Maybe we should start calling you Hawkeye."

Phil grinned and rolled his eyes. "No thanks," he said motioning for her to take her turn.

"Wait until you see what I can do," she said narrowing her eyes. She held the dart in her fingertips and aimed carefully for the center. "You're about to get your ass handed to you," she said throwing it, watching it as it struck the wood paneling on the wall, missing the board completely.

"Oohh, nice." He grinned as he walked up behind her and placed one of his hands on her hip and the other on her shoulder, squaring her up in the prefect stance. "See, the trick is to angle your body like this," he whispered in her ear, letting his thumb stroke gently on her hipbone.

His touch sent immediate chills to her spine. She closed her eyes and concentrated on his touch; it made her feel like it was just him and her in the bar. "Like this?" she whispered back.

He placed a little kiss on her shoulder. "Exactly. Now, imagine a line from the tip of your dart to where you want it to go on the board. And throw."

Who would have thought darts could be so sensual?

Darcy opened her eyes and sucked in a deep breath then she threw the dart, closing her eyes on the release, praying that it at least struck the black outer edge.

"Better. Not bad." She heard Phil say.

"How bad?" she asked, refusing to open her eyes yet.

"Just open your eyes."

Darcy cracked her eyes open and then laughed. "Well, it's not a bullseye!"

"No. No, it is not," Phil chucked.

"I suck!" Darcy said sticking her tongue out as she looked at the dart hanging just barely on the outer edge of the board.

"Hey, at least you made it to the board this time," Phil said with his lip just twisting up just slightly.

"Oh, shut up," Darcy smirked.

"Ooohh, mean girl."

Darcy bit her lip slightly and turned away from Phil. They were being extra flirty tonight, and she was totally into it, even though she knew that they really should be doing some hefty detective work so they could solve this case before time ran out.

"Don't look now but I think the lumber boys are staring at us," Phil said quietly his lip brushing against her ear.

"Good," Darcy said with a smirk. "Let's give them something to stare at." With that she crushed her lips against his, kissing him with heat and passion. If those goons were going to be looking at them, why not give them a show? At first Phil didn't respond but soon as she flicked her tongue across his lips, he opened his mouth slightly allowing her to enter. She moaned a little bit when his tongue slid across hers, her whole body tingled with electric energy.

PDA with Agent Phil Coulson was definitely hot.

She pulled away slightly, smiling seductively as they looked into each other eyes. "I don't care how hard you fight me, Phil Coulson, but I am  _fucking you hard_  tonight," she whispered.

He grinned, blush creeping just slightly across his cheeks. He swallowed thickly, then licked at his dry lips. "Not if I get to you first," he whispered back, his eyes never leaving hers.

Darcy buried her face into the crook of his neck and grinned. "I think we should skip out on the meal and go back to the house," she said quietly. He gave a low chuckle, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Are they still staring at us?"

"Yep."

"Perverts," Darcy said with a roll of her eyes.

Phil smirked, and then sighed. "And guess who just walked into the bar?"

"Hmm, let me think ... A hot red head?" The words dripped like venom as she said them.

"She's not hot, Darcy."

Darcy couldn't help but look over at Melissa with a scowl on her face. She really hated that that woman with every fiber of her being. Maybe things wouldn't have been so bad if she wasn't trying to come onto Phil every two seconds. Still, though, the woman was annoying as hell. "Oh look, she's spotted us," Darcy said, just as Melissa saw them and smiled, waving her hand. "And she's-" She didn't get to finish her sentence because Phil's mouth slanted over hers and pulled her in tightly for a deep kiss.

He pulled away after a few seconds and grinned. "She's what?" he asked.

Darcy bit her lip. "I was going to say she was coming over here, but now she's sitting at a table with a pissed look on her face."

"Good, that's what I was hoping for." Phil's eyes twinkled. "And looks like our massive amount of food is here," he said with a shake of his head, looking at their table loaded with plates of greasy bar food.

They both walked back to the booth, hand in hand, like a couple in love. Darcy couldn't help but feel like she loved Phil, even though she knew it was too soon. Still, she couldn't help but feel such a deep connection to him even after only a month and a few odd days of actually getting to know him on a personal level. She smiled at him when they sat down as he ordered them a couple more beers. "God, I guess this is a lot of food, isn't it?" she said with a laugh.

"That's an understatement," he said, piling a bunch of food on his plate.

Darcy giggled, taking a nacho off the plate and popping it into her mouth. She leaned her head against his shoulder, listening to the song playing on the jukebox. "This has been the best date I've ever been on," she confessed.

"Me too," he agreed.

She grinned wider. "And I can't wait until we get home tonight," she said raising her eyebrows a couple of times.

"Mmm-humph," he agreed again.

"Howdy neighbors!" Ken said as he came up to the table with Barbie. Darcy knew that this was the only major public place in Shady Oaks but seriously did the whole town hang out here every night? "Ten cent wing night!"

"Yep," Darcy grinned gesturing to the pile of wings on the table. "Help yourself."

"Don't mind if we do," Barbara said taking a wing and sitting down at the booth. Ken slid in next to her and took more than just a wing, he helped himself to nachos and mozzarella sticks too. When Darcy said help yourself, she hadn't meant 'eat all our food and sit with us.' She gave Phil a look and his lip curved upwards just slightly.

"So hows the grocery business, Ken?" Phil asked. She knew he was working up to asking about the missing men or the weird noises but needed to work up to it.

"Oh, you know ..." Ken shrugged and then shoved a potato skin in his mouth. "Same old, same old," he said through a mouthful of food.

There was an awkward pause between everyone, before Darcy spoke up. "So, I think camp has been going really well this week. I really miss Annie Martin though, she was my favorite. Do you know why she's not there anymore?" she asked as she reached for another wing.

Another awkward pause.

"Well," Barbara said. "Her mom has been kind of sick and she's been staying home with her while her father is down at the lumber yard."

"Oh, that stinks," Darcy said looking at Barbara. "What's wrong with her?"

Ken shrugged. "No one knows for sure. She's just real ill, stays in bed and sleeps a lot. That's what I've heard anyhow."

"Has she gone to see the doctor?" Phil asked.

"Doctor Benton is on vacation until next Tuesday," Barbara said with a little shake of her head.

Darcy furrowed her eyebrows. What was weird was why Lindsey Martin hadn't gone out of Shady Oaks to another doctor or hospital if she was so sick? This town was so fucked up. "There is no other doctors?"

"We had Doctor Blue but he decided to get married and move to Miami," Ken laughed.

 _God, I wish Phil and I were in Miami right now._ "Seems odd to only have one doctor here." Darcy said in between a sip of beer and a bit of a potato skin.

"Well, you know, we don't get many outsiders here that want to move here. Shady Oaks isn't exactly a hot spot." Ken replied.

"What's not a hot spot?" a sing songy voice asked. Darcy looked up and wanted to groan. Melissa was standing there in her low cut top and a pair of super short jean cutoff shorts.

"Shady Oaks," Barbara smiled. "Why don't you sit down and join us?"

 _Where?!_  Darcy wanted to scream. She and Phil were already on one side and Ken and Barbara on the other.

"I think I will," she said as she put her hand down on Phil's shoulder and pushed him gently. "Scoot over, Phil," she laughed as she squeezed next to him. Darcy slid over to the end of the booth smashed uncomfortably against the wall.

"Have some food," Phil smiled. "We have plenty." He gave Darcy a quick apologetic look, in which she returned with narrowed eyes and her lips pursed tightly together.

"Sorry, Darcy, don't mean to squish you!" Melissa said with a smile. She glanced at Phil. "You lucky man. You get to be sandwiched in between two hot women," she said with a tiny wink.

"One lucky guy," he returned her smile.

Darcy wanted to smack him. "So is your headache gone, Mel? We missed you at class today."

"Oh, I am so much better. Thanks for holding down the fort. I know how crazy those kids can be." Melissa smiled as she picked all the toppings off a nacho before eating it.

Who does that?

They chatted for a while and ordered another round of drinks before Phil looked over at Ken with a serious look on his face. "Hey, did you guys hear anything strange last night?"

"Like what?" Ken asked.

"Like a weird howl? Darcy and I heard it last night." Phil said.

"Oh! That was just us lovemaking!" Ken said with a hearty laugh.

 _Gross._  Darcy wanted to throw up.

"Just joking! No, we didn't hear anything. I snore so loud though-" Ken said with a shake of his head.

"I asked Sheriff Dunham about it and he said that it might have been a wolf-" Phil started to say but then all of the sudden got real quiet and stiffened up.

"Yeah ..." Melissa said with a smile. "We get a lot of wolves around here. I'm sure it was just that and nothing more."

Darcy could tell she was moving her hand underneath the table and she swore to god that if she was touching Phil, she was going to punch her. Darcy carefully slid her fork off the end of the table and then ducked down to retrieve it. Sure enough Melissa's hand was resting on Phil's upper thigh and it was a bit too close to his-

Darcy jerked her head up and glared at Melissa. "Hey! Get your fucking-"

If the door to Branson's hadn't jerked open at that moment Darcy was about to take down Melissa. No one touches her man and lives to tell about it. "They just found Bob Alvers body!" a man shouted, his face was white as a ghost and his hands shaking. The entire bar went silent for a few moments before everyone started to chatter all at once.

"What do you mean?" one of the lumber boys asked. "I just saw him a few hours ago before I left work."

"He's dead, Johnny!" the man shouted again. "Dunham came across his body just on the outskirt of the woods down by the lumber yard. His body was ripped to up and shit! I guess his heart was taken clean outta him ... just gone," he said shaking his head.

The waitress Kimberly came over and handed him a glass of water. "Sit down Carl," she said quietly as she led him over to a chair. "How did you find out about him?" she asked, rubbing his shoulders.

"I had to go pay my parking violation at his office and he and Jack Martin were just bringing his body in. He told me to come here and tell everyone to stay away from the woods."

Darcy and Phil both looked at each other; both were thinking the same thing. Darcy's eyes darted to Melissa who jumped up and ran over to Carl's side. Ken and Barbara also got up and headed over to a corner of the bar. Ken put his arms around his wife to comfort her. The whole bar was in complete disarray with chatter as everyone discussed what could have happened to Bob.

"Bob Alvers was one of the guys I worked with," Phil said quietly. "He was Jack's right hand man. He also was the one that had numerous girlfriends and might have gotten a fourth one pregnant."

"Blues eyes and in his forties by any chance?" Darcy asked.

Phil nodded yes. "Guess what we're doing tonight?" he asked already grabbing his coat.

Darcy scrunched her eyebrows in worry. "Going back home to have wild ravenous sex?"

Phil gave her a slight smile. "I wish. C'mon let's get out of here while we can," he said already moving towards the door with Darcy following quickly behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three more chapters to go ...


	15. Into the Woods

"Are you okay, Darcy?" Phil asked as he pulled the car into the driveway of their home. It was a dumb question to ask when he knew her answer was yes, but he felt like he needed to ask anyway.

"Just peachy," Darcy said, trying to not let her nervousness show. Her basic S.H.I.E.L.D training gave her enough preparation to face whatever was out in the woods, but she didn't feel like her mind was prepared at all. She had never been fond of wild animals, especially giant ones that mauled and killed people, so going out into the woods at night to track one was certainly not on the top of her fun list. "So can I just say that it was not cool that Melissa had her hand on you? That really pissed me off." It was way off the subject, but it had been bothering Darcy since they left the bar.

"Can we get back on track here, Darcy?" he asked, getting out of the car.

"I just don't like her manhandling you. I mean, her hand was a bit close to the crotch region. Who the hell does she think she is? Who moves in on another woman's husband so out in the open? Kind of ballsy of her." Darcy followed Phil into the house and up the stairs to the bedroom.

"I didn't enjoy it," Phil answered, reaching into a black bag and pulling a vest of it. He tossed it over to Darcy. "Done ranting? Put that on under your clothes."

Darcy rubbed the thin material of the vest between her fingertips. The last time she had worn one of these was at the beginning of her level two training. Not a particularly fond memory as she recalled bullets being fired at her as she ran through a crazy-ass obstacle course. Of course, she was told that they weren't real bullets just some sort of holographic ones, but would still hurt like hell if they hit her. "Bullet proof vest? Against a wild animal attack?"

"It'll keep your chest protected," he said as he stripped his shirt off and put on his vest. He was quieter now, slipping back into that agent mode as he placed items into the black bag. "We'll drive down to the logging site; there's an area that's covered by a dense patch of trees where we can park to hide the car. From there we'll go on foot and look for clues."

"Do you think Dunham will be out there?" Darcy asked, pulling off her tank top and reaching for a dark colored shirt.

"I'm hoping he won't venture back out until tomorrow morning-"

"What do we do if we run into him?"

"We won't," he said, looking into her eyes. "Darcy, it's time to use all the knowledge and training that S.H.I.E.L.D has instilled into you. Sometimes getting caught just isn't an option."

"I'm taking my taser," she said pulling it out of the nightstand and placing it into one of the cargo pockets of her pants.

"Take your gun too, Darcy," Phil said sternly.

"Okay." Darcy wasn't fond of guns, and it wasn't because she was a bad shot. It was because the thought of killing someone did not sit well with her; even the thought of injuring someone with a gun made her stomach turn a bit. Of course, she never would tell anyone in S.H.I.E.L.D this, not even Phil. However, killing or injuring a man-hungry wild animal was a different story.

"Ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Darcy said giving him a small smile.

 

* * *

 

Phil told her his entire plan on the drive to the lumberyard, and Darcy was listening except it felt like it was going in one ear and out the other. How could that man be so knowledgeable in so many different areas? Years of training she guessed, not to mention he was the smartest person she'd ever met in her entire life. He totally kicked her ass at Jeopardy every time they watched it. If she had just a tenth of his brain, she'd feel like a rocket scientist. He turned his headlights off as he pulled into an area just off to the side of the worksite that was well camouflaged by trees and undergrowth. Phil turned to her and placed his hand on her knee. "It's going to be fine," he gave her a soft, reassuring smile and squeezed her knee gently. "We're not going to split up."

"I am fine," she said nervously. "Let's just go okay?" she said, opening the car door and stepping out into the damp ground. It wasn't as dark as she thought it was going to be outside because the moonlight was shining brightly above them. The fog, though, was extremely dense which made it hard to see out into the distance. Darcy rubbed her hands over her arms, trying to warm herself and fight down the butterflies that were bubbling up in her stomach. The only thing that was keeping her from jumping into Lola and driving off was Phil standing near her and the taser in her pants pocket.

Phil flipped on a small flashlight and pointed it outwards, scanning the area. "Damn fog," he muttered.

"Not gonna lie, Phil." She tried to strain her eyesight through the thick fog. "This has all the makings for a cliche horror movie," she whispered as they began to walk cautiously through the woods.

"Don't freak yourself out," Phil replied, shining the light towards the ground so they could see if there were any fallen branches or roots they needed to avoid. "Thinking like that is going to make you lose concentration on the mission."

"I just keep thinking there are going to be zombies popping out around those trees," she muttered. Her heart began to beat faster and she knew she needed to stop. She glanced up at Phil, worry evident on her face. "Zombies aren't real are they?"

He didn't say anything which made her worry more. "Are they?" she asked again.

"I don't think we're dealing with zombies, Darcy. In no way does this have any signs pointing to a zombie attack." He was totally admitting that zombies were real. Her heart skipped a beat. He took her hand and helped her over a rotted log. "I'm a hundred percent sure we're dealing with an animal attack."

"Which doesn't make sense why we're out here," Darcy said matter-of-factly. "When I suggested that maybe this was the work of serial killer, you said that S.H.I.E.L.D didn't deal with that. However, here we are tracking an animal? That doesn't seem like something S.H.I.E.L.D would waste their time with. What do you know, Coulson?"

He was silent for a few moments as they continued on their journey deep into the woods. The moonlight was having a hard time penetrating through the trees which were clustered closer together now. "Let's go this way," he said through the darkness.

"No," Darcy said flatly. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what the fuck you know. I'm part of this mission too. It's not fair to keep me in the dark when it's clear that you know something. Is my security clearance not high enough or what?" She stomped her foot firmly on the ground showing him that she was serious.

He sighed deeply. "Darcy," he started but stopped when a loud snarl was heard off in the distance.

"Oh fuck," Darcy whispered. Something was coming towards them through the fog. She could hear the crunch of fallen branches and leaves as it came closer. "Phil, what-"

"Shhh ..." Phil whispered back. They both stilled their breath, listening carefully for anymore sounds. "Darcy, get your gun out," he said as he pulled his out and took the safety off.

There were more snapping of branches as it moved closer and closer. A low hoarse breathing came next followed by another snarl. Phil took Darcy's hand in his and they started to move quickly out of the area. Whatever was out there in the distance was following them. Phil ducked behind and tree and pulled Darcy with him. "Stay close to me," he said quietly into her ear.

"I think ..." Darcy could barely get the words out. "It's right behind ... us." She could hear movement and something rubbing up against a nearby tree.

Phil nodded. "It's stalking us," he whispered. "Playing with us."

"You mean-" Whatever Darcy was going to say next didn't happen because there was another loud snarl and then a hairy shape jumped out from behind a bush.

"Darcy," Phil said loudly, grabbing her hand. "Move!" he yelled, pulling her with him through the woods as they weaved between trees and jumped over fallen debris as fast as they could. Whatever the thing was, it was following them, gaining speed as it snorted and snarled.

Everything was going in a complete blur for Darcy; it felt like she wasn't even in her body as she darted in and out of the trees running for her life. "It looked like a wolf," she said breathlessly, running to keep up with Phil. "I couldn't see it well, but it looked like a big hairy dog. Phil?" She stopped and spun around looking for him; her heart pounded hard in her chest.

They had gotten separated from each other, it was something that he had promised wouldn't happen. "Phil," she whispered into the fog. "Where are you?"

 

* * *

 

Phil felt like he had been running for hours; his breath was ragged and he was beginning to get a cramp in the back of his leg; he slowed his pace down and rested his hand against a moss covered tree. "Darce?" he breathed out, trying to catch his breath. When he didn't hear her answer he turned to look behind him. "Agent Lewis?" he called out again. She had been right behind him a minute ago. He had told her that they wouldn't be separated, but he had let it happen and now he was starting to panic.

He hadn't heard the animal for the last few minutes. The forest was completely silent except for the chirps of some tree frogs every now and again. Phil walked slowly back the way he had come, hoping that Darcy would walk through the fog at any moment. He jumped when his cell phone beeped and he pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the screen, praying that it was from Darcy.

It was a message from the S.H.I.E.L.D biology department. He opened the attachment and swore under his breath: the hair sample he had sent to get analyzed was a hundred percent match to a lycanthrope. "Shit," he muttered; it was just what he had thought it was going to be. He dialed Darcy's cell number. Now was not the time to be separated from each other when they were dealing with a werewolf. "C'mon ... pick up ..." he said quietly over and over again.

"Did you lose somebody?" a woman's voice whispered behind Phil.

He spun around, his face in shock as he looked at Melissa, leaning up against a tree. Her red hair was in a tangled mess and she was completely naked. She wiggled a little bit against the tree and smiled, biting her lip playfully as she stared at him with desire in her eyes. The phone was still ringing in his hand; maybe Darcy would answer then she could be warned to get out of the forest and alert S.H.I.E.L.D. "It was you chasing us," he said reaching slowly for his gun.

Melissa smiled and shook her head. "No. Not me," she said, coming closer to Phil. Her eyes darted down to his hand that he was putting into his pocket. "I wouldn't do that. I don't want to kill you."

He dropped his hand to his side, but he kept his gaze locked onto her. "There's more?"

She grinned and nodded. "Two of us," she said softly, placing one hand on his shoulder. The other hand reached for his phone and crushed it like it was made of eggshells.

Phil couldn't move; he wanted to move, his brain was telling him move, to put all those years of training in various forms of martial arts to good use, but he physically could not fight back. "Where's Darcy?" he said quietly, his eyelids fluttering as Melissa rubbed herself against him. Her intoxicating sent filled his nostrils and a strange sense of euphoria was overcoming him. "What ..." he moaned softly when she placed her finger to his mouth

Melissa giggled. "What am I doing? What's the plan?" she reached for his jaw and pulled him into her, kissing him sweetly on the lips. "I couldn't smell Darcy on you when we first met. There was nothing intimate at all between the two of you. I know you hadn't mated with her, therefore she must not be your wife. But now I can smell her all over you. I can taste her on your lips. I don't like that, not one bit."

He couldn't help himself as he leaned in and kissed her softly. His brain was going cloudy as he felt himself begin to lose the battle. "What do you want with me?"

"A mate. A lover. Isn't that what we all want in life?" she asked, kissing him back.

"Did you kill, Bob?" he managed to ask.

"Yes. I had thought that maybe he would be the one for me, but I found out some unsavory things about him. He had other lovers than me, and he even got another girl pregnant. I had to kill him. I ripped his heart out with my bare hand, showing it to him as it took its last couple of beats and his eyes lost the light of life." She gnashed her teeth together, hatred glowing in her eyes.

"And ... the others?"

"I killed them all. Each one of them I thought would be my perfect match, but I was wrong about all of them. But I have a good feeling about you, Phil. Never before have I ever felt such a desire and attraction to someone. Once I turn you, we'll be together forever," she whispered, sliding her hand through his hair. "Now, you're asking too many questions. Let's go." She took his hand and began to lead him through the forest.

"Who else is a werewolf?" he asked as he unwillingly followed Melissa. It sickened him to think that Darcy was possibly in the same sort of trouble that he was in.

"Shhh, darling," she smiled and squeezed his hand. "Just follow me."

 

* * *

 

Where the fuck was Phil? That was the only thought going to through Darcy's mind as she walked through the forest. "Oh my god, I'm so stupid," she muttered to herself, shaking her head in disgust. She reached for her phone; all she had to do was call him and he'd tell her where he was at and they'd meet up. Problem solved. Well, it would have been if it weren't for the fact that her phone was not on her. "Son of a bitch," she said clenching her jaw, remembering that she left it in the car. Now she would have to go back and get it, if she could actually remember where the car was. Hell, she didn't even know what direction she was going in.

On top of all that, there was still a wild, man-eating animal out there. She blew out a deep breath and tipped her head back to look at the sky. Was there something about the moon that could tell her what direction to go? Or was that a star? It didn't matter anyway because she couldn't even see the sky through all the trees. "I hate the outdoors," she muttered. Phil had mentioned to her one night that it would be fun to go camping one weekend once they got back from this mission. Well the hell with that now. Mother nature could go suck a-

There was a snapping sound in the distance that made Darcy stop dead in her tracks. She held her breath and listened for a moment and began to move quickly once she didn't hear it again. There were noises in the forest, not all of them came from big-ass animals. Maybe it was a pinecone falling, or a cute little bunny. That's what she told herself anyway. She had almost shouted a 'hallelujah' when she found a dirt road and a sign that pointed to the direction of the lumberyard. She walked as fast as she could without breaking into a full-on run towards the main area of the worksite. In just a few minutes she'd have her phone and all would be right in the world again. That feeling of puking her guts out was going away, and she smiled as soon as she saw the office cabin.

Except there was a light on in the cabin that hadn't been on before. Who was out here? Dunham? Jack? Those were the only two possibilities that made sense; anyone else would just be odd. Darcy crouched down and crept towards the cabin. She leaned against it just under the window, thinking maybe she could take a peek inside and see who it was. That was the plan anyway, she just had to psyche herself up to doing it. She closed her eyes and counted to three and then bobbed her head up just slightly to get a glimpse inside. There, tied up in the corner, were two people: a woman and a little girl.

Lindsey and Annie.

What the hell was going on? Darcy glanced from side to side to see if anyone else was in the cabin; she didn't see anyone but that didn't mean that there wasn't anyone hiding in the small room off to the side. She tapped softly on the window and when Annie looked over, Darcy mouthed the word 'safe?' Annie nodded 'yes' in response, and Darcy took a chance to go inside, using the front door, which she opened slowly, hoping it wouldn't draw any attention from unwanted company.

"Are you okay?" Darcy whispered as she pulled the gag off Annie. "Who did this to you?" she asked, taking Lindsey's gag off. She could tell that the woman wasn't well at all: there was sweat dripping from her forehead and her eyes were glassy.

"Mrs. Coulson, you have to get out of here before he comes back," Annie said in a rushed breath.

"No way, I can't leave you here! Now who did this?" Darcy scrunched her eyebrows together as she began to untie their hands.

"Jack. He's a monster," Annie said fearfully.

"No shit, he's a monster."

"No, a real monster," Annie said, shaking her head back and forth. "I saw him change. He knew that I saw him, and he brought me and my mom here."

"What do you mean change? What did he change into?" Darcy asked as she continued to fidget with the ties. There was silence from the girl. "Annie, what do you mean?" she asked again, looking up at the girl's face, which was frozen in horror, looking past Darcy towards the door.

"Hey there, Darcy." Jack was standing in the doorway, shirtless and pair of jeans hanging loosely around his waist. He looked her up and down, grinning widely. "Something tells me you aren't just a teacher, are you? Actually, I don't think you're a teacher at all. Don't think your ... so-called husband is a writer either, is he?"

Darcy stood up and blocked Annie and Lindsey. She was not going to let anything happen to either of them. "Who are you?" she demanded, reaching for her taser. That bastard was going down in about two seconds. "You're a fucking sicko!"

He just laughed and then took one step closer. "Darcy, I'm in love with you."

"Stay the fuck back," she ordered. "I swear, you take one step closer to us and your ass will be on the floor." Her hand was at her cargo pocket now, reaching in, the taser almost in her grasp.

"Want you, Darcy," he smiled again, this time barring his sharp looking teeth. "You'll be a perfect mate."

"Whoa, hold up! Mate? Don't you have a wife? And by the way, what the hell did you do to her? Why is she sick?" The taser was in her fingers now and she was ready to drop this bastard to the ground.

"Things are a little stale between us, aren't they sweetheart?" Jack said looking past Darcy at Lindsey. "Never really felt a deep connection to her, not enough to turn her anyway. That, and I hate her brat."

"Don't you dare say anything about Annie!" She was pulling the taser out slowly now. She shook her head, just realizing that he said something rather odd. "Turn? What do you mean turn her? You know what? Fuck it!" she yelled loudly, pulling the taser out as quickly as she could and pressing the trigger.

Jack moved like lightning, dodging the dart-like electrodes of the taser. He ended up over by the desk, nails digging into the wood, and a sneer on his face. "Gonna play hard to get? That's my favorite way to play."

"What the hell are you?" Darcy had never seen a human move that fast before, and she was starting to think that Jack was anything but. Her heart pounded and she could feel her legs start to weaken.

"Some call us a werewolves, but I like the term Lycan more," Jack explained, lifting his hand as it began to shift to a more claw like form.

"Holy shit," Darcy whispered, unable to take her eyes off his changing hand. "Did you kill Phil?" she managed to squeak out.

"No. I don't think Melissa wants to kill him, she just wants him as her mate."

"Melissa is one too? Who else? Ken? Barbara? Is this whole fucking town filled with werewolves?" Darcy's head was spinning; all of this was just too much to take in at once.

Jack laughed. "Ken and Barbara are just idiots. Nope, there's only two of us in this town: me and my sister."

Melissa was his sister; that made perfect sense. Darcy glanced back at Annie and Lindsey, who were both huddled up together keeping absolutely silent. "You cannot hurt them! I will come with you but you have to let them go," she said looking back at Jack.

"They know too much now. They have to be silenced." His eyes flashed yellow as he looked over at them. He looked back at Darcy showing her his fanged teeth again, slowly he began to walk towards her.

"Don't let him get close to you, Darcy," Lindsey said hoarsely. "He'll put you under his spell ..."

Darcy's eyes flicked towards the door. If she could get out, maybe she could make it to the car and alert S.H.I.E.L.D. It was the only thing she could think of at the moment. She would have to try, there were lives at stake. She looked back at Jack, who still had that evil sneer and lust in his eyes. No way in hell was she going to go with him. Then, without any more hesitation, she dashed towards the door.

She could hear Jack laugh as he began to pursue her. "Darcy! I'm coming for you," he yelled. She heard his laugh again, which turned more snarl-like, followed by a howl. When she heard Annie scream, she clasped her hand over her mouth praying that Jack just didn't do something to the little girl. It was stupid of her to leave them vulnerable, especially when Jack admitted he was going to kill them. She could only hope that they were still okay. She could hear something large chasing after her through the woods as she raced for the car. She heard faint scream from Annie again, and she closed her eyes in thanks; at least she was still alive.

Darcy reached into her other pocket and pulled her gun out, removing the safety and placing her finger on the trigger. There was a rustling in the bushes, and she aimed her weapon at it. "Jack, I am warning you! I have a weapon and will kill you if you come near me!" The gun shook in her hand. There was howl as Jack jumped out of the bushes in his wolf form, and he growled and grunted as he scampered towards her. Darcy fired her gun twice, missing him both times. "Shit," she squealed and then started to run again.

She ran through the woods as quickly as she could, knowing that she was getting lost with every turn. She was probably so far away from the cabin now that getting back there was going to be impossible. She could still hear Jack coming after her, but he had slowed down as he tracked her. Darcy recalled that Phil had said that they were being played with, and that's what Jack was doing. He was playing with her; using her like a toy. Darcy pushed her way through some tree limbs and found herself in an area with lumber machinery and trucks; at least here there would be someplace to hide. "Damn it," she mumbled, pulling on the handle of a truck only to find it was locked. She tried another one with no luck. "Fuck." She leaned up against the truck and closed her eyes, trying to think of what to do next. Whatever she needed to do, she had to think of it fast. Phil, Annie, and Lindsey depended on her. The air seemed to get warmer and a strange foul stench floated through the air, making her almost gag.

Darcy opened her eyes, turned her head, and dropped her mouth open. Her eyes met a set of yellow ones, and they burrowed into hers making her entire body shake. She was seeing Jack's wolf form clearly for the first time, and it was more horrifying than anything she'd seen in any werewolf movie. His face was just mere inches from hers, fanged teeth dripping with saliva and foam. Steam seemed to puff from his nostrils as he breathed in and out raggedly. His hair was dark reddish brown in color, matted and sparse across his body. Her eyes traveled down to his claws, which were gnarled, but razor sharp, and looked like they could slash through anything.

_He doesn't want to kill me, he wants me as a mate._ Darcy knew that right now running was her best option, she needed to keep away from him. Jack growled, stepping closer so his nose was two inches from hers. She swallowed the lump in her throat and then she rolled to her side, pushed up off her knees and she ran and ran and ran, as fast as she could make herself go. There was a loud howl behind her as Jack chased her through the worksite.

Jack as right behind her now, she could feel him gaining speed on her. His growling and snarling was enough to make a person drop dead, but she couldn't let it get to her. She turned a corner and crouched down by an industrial sized wood chipper with the key still in it. Suddenly a light flicked on in her head. Could she do this? Could see actually pull this off? Jack was racing at full gallop at her now; she jumped out standing in front of the mouth of the chipper. "Come and get me, bastard," she said to herself, watching Jack as he lunged at her. She dropped to the ground just before he reached her. Darcy hit the red button on the side of the chipper and it started up just as Jack fell into it; she rolled off to the side and covered her ears as the sound of howling and the grinding of bones filled the forest.

She lay on the ground with her eyes squeezed tightly shut for several moments after the howling stopped. The only sound now was the grating and turning blades of the running machine. She opened her eyes and slowly got to her feet, walking over to the chipper. Jack had to be dead; there was no way anything could survive that. "Ohhh," Darcy put her hand up to her mouth, seeing all the blood and clumps of hair splattered all over the chipper. She turned it off, and peered inside: oh yeah, he was dead. Darcy turned away quickly and threw up, placing her hands on her knees to steady herself.

With her heart pounding heavily in her chest, she ran through the forest, retracing her steps as best as she could. She stopped at an old fallen pine tree that she had remembered seeing before, and knew that she was getting close to the cabin. Her knees shook as she slowed down her pace to a quick walk towards the area where Phil had parked Lola. She stopped and placed her hands on the back of the car, resting her weight against it. She closed her eyes momentarily to try to get her breathing back to a somewhat normal rhythm. Being hunted down by a werewolf was not exactly how she thought this mission was going to go, she didn't know what to expect, but a werewolf had never crossed her mind. She swallowed, still being able to taste the bile in her throat from throwing up. She was not going to even let her mind wander back to the wood chipper event right now. Slowly, she made her way to the passenger side of the car and opened the door.

"Halle-fucking-lujah ..." she grumbled reaching for her phone which was lying on the seat. She pressed the number to S.H.I.E.L.D and waited for someone to pick up. "This is Agent Darcy Lewis. Security number: 1-4-6-6-9-0-4-8-3-2. I need to speak with Deputy Director Hill or Director Fury," she said breathlessly into the phone. She wasn't connected to either of them, but got Agent Matson instead. She explained what was going on as best she could and he informed her that they would be sending out a team right away. He told her to stay put, but there was no way she was going to do that. Not when Phil was out there with Melissa.

After she hung up she walked back into the cabin, and smiled when she saw that both Annie and Lindsey were still in there, alive.

"Mrs. Coulson?" Annie whispered. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Jack is gone, you guys are safe from him now." She looked down at her jacket, which she could see was covered with blood now. "He's—it doesn't matter what happened to him, but you're safe. My name is isn't Darcy Coulson, it's Darcy Lewis and I work of an organization called S.H.I.E.L.D. They'll be here in about twenty minutes, and they'll take care of you and your mother." Darcy looked over at Lindsey who curled up in the corner, sleeping, but breathing roughly.

"I'm scared," Annie said as Darcy got her untied. "Please stay with us."

"I can't, Annie. My ... partner is out there someplace and I need to find him before something bad happens to him." Her voice cracked a bit as she thought about what was happening to Phil at this very second. "Stay put until S.H.I.E.L.D gets here. Don't worry, you'll be fine." Darcy gave Annie a tiny smile, and then left the cabin, looking out into the fog.

She had to find Phil, but she had no idea where to even begin searching.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters to go!   
> And I have a beta now :) Thanks Meg!


	16. Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

 

Agent Matson had said that S.H.I.E.L.D's ETA to Shady Oaks would be twenty minutes; that was twenty minutes too long to sit back and wait idly while Phil was out there alone with a werewolf. In twenty minutes he could be captured, injured, killed, or, god forbid ...turned. Assuming none of those things had happened already. Jack had wanted Darcy for a mate and Melissa wanted Phil for a mate, so Darcy would bet money that he was alive, but whether he was safe-she had no idea.  Of course, finding his location was going to be a bitch. The Shady Oaks forest was huge, and the fog and darkness were not going to make it easier. She had called Phil's phone several times, but all it did was ring continuously, which made her worry more.  She felt like she was walking in a circle, feeling like she had passed the same rock formations and cluster of trees over and over again. "Jesus H. Christ ..." she mumbled, leaning up against a tree. _Phil, what am I supposed to do?_   If he was here, she knew what he'd tell her - he'd tell her to stay put and wait for S.H.I.E.L.D to arrive. Darcy flipped open her phone and typed in Coulson, Phillip J. into the S.H.I.E.L.D database. Maybe there was something in there that could help her find him. The phone buzzed and an alert popped up on the screen:

**[[Access Denied]]**

_C'mon, I am fucking sleeping with him!_  She rubbed her temples a little bit and then pulled up the mission dossier on the screen. Both their names were listed as the active agents; she highlighted his name and it took her to his pseudo-biography. "I'm wasting time," she muttered under her breath as she scrolled through it. She was ready to close her phone and start moving again when she decided to try one more thing: she highlighted his picture and it immediately it brought up a GPS screen with a blinking red dot.

It was Phil's location.

So he had a tracking device on him ... or _in_ him. Clint had mentioned one time that all S.H.I.E.L.D agents were implanted with a tracking device, although Darcy never remembered getting one when she was brought into the agency. Curiosity got the better of her and she had to check if she had one herself. She flipped back to the main screen and highlighted her picture. The screen opened up to the GPS screen showing her location as a blue dot. Okay, it was a little creepy that S.H.I.E.L.D was tracking her every move, but it was even creepier knowing that they had implanted her with a device without her knowledge. But, there was no time to dwell on S.H.I.E.L.D and their disturbing work ethics right now; taking a deep breath, she started out in his direction.

 

* * *

 

The first thing that Phil noticed when he woke up was the tight restraint tied around his feet. The second thing that he noticed was that he was laying on a bed. The third thing was that his hands were bound: one to each of the bed posts. The light in the room was dim, lit only by an oil lantern that was hung in the corner. The last thing that he remembered was being in the forest with Melissa; she had told him that she wanted him, she had kissed him, and he had kissed her back, willingly. She had confessed that she had killed those missing men, but probably the biggest reveal was that she was a werewolf.

"Comfortable?" Melissa's sweet voice filled the room. "I hope I didn't tie the ropes too tightly. I just don't want you to get away." She stepped into the light, dressed in a cotton robe. Her red hair which once was wildly about her was now piled on top of her head in a neat bun.

"Where's Darcy?" Phil tried to sit up but it was not easy with the restraints. "Where am I?"

"I'm sure she's fine," Melissa cooed, coming over to the edge of the bed and sitting down. She placed her hand on Phil's leg and stroked it softly. Phil started to get that feeling on intoxication again; he could feel it begin to take over his senses. "Jack is taking care of her. She's his just like you're mine. This is my little getaway cabin. It's a place I like to go when I just need to take a break from pretending I'm someone I'm not. Here I can be free to be myself," she grinned.

Phil gritted his teeth, trying to fight the sensations coming over him. He could not let this go any farther than it had already. "I swear to god if anything happens to her-"

Melissa laughed. "What?" She squeezed his thigh gently, and leaned into him. "You'll be turned long before then, and then you won't want anyone but me."

Phil jerked his leg trying to get it away from Melissa's grip. He had to get away somehow; he had to get to Darcy. As the senior agent assigned to mission it was his job to make sure that she wasn't harmed in any way. That, and she was his girlfriend, and he'd be damned if he'd let anything happen to her. He would have to stall Melissa until he could formulate a plan. "It's just you and Jack?"

Melissa nodded. "We're the last of our pack. The rest were hunted down and killed a few years ago." Her voice filled with sadness and she turned her head to look away from Phil before she started speaking again. "We're looking for the prefect mates to grow our pack with."

"This is weird," Phil muttered under his breath. He had dealt with the supernatural before but this was just on a whole different level of weirdness. He tried moving his legs again, maybe if he kept moving he could loosen the bonds and eventually break free.

"So you're going to turn me and then what?"

She looked back at him, smiling sweetly. "After I turn you, we'll mate and then our bond can never be broken. We'll travel with Jack and Darcy, grow our families, wander the woods and forests. Live in peace and harmony, far away from any civilizations. So you'll still get to be with Darcy, you just won't be with her." Melissa got up and sat closely to Phil; she gripped the bottom of his shirt and slowly pushed it up exposing his bare chest. Her sharp fingernails trailed over him, leaving faint little red marks across his skin. "You'll enjoy this. With your senses heightened, the sex we'll have will be unlike anything you've ever experienced before. It'll be hot, rough, ... so very intense.  It'll leave you craving for more each time ..." She lightly tickled her fingers down his chest, stopping at the buckle of his belt.

His breath hitched when she undid his belt buckle and unzipped his pants. Her hand felt him, while she kept her eyes locked on his. Her breathing uneven, and every once in a while she would growl softly in the back of her throat. "What are you waiting for?"  He wasn't sure if he had asked it as a legitimate question or if he asked it in an excited anticipation of them making love. His mind was so groggy now, he could barely remember his own name.

"See, you're coming around already," she giggled, and then looked out the window. "I have to turn you at the right time. Soon, darling, soon ..." She said looking up at the moon.

Phil nodded and closed his eyes. Soon he would be with Melissa and Jack would have Darcy; everything would be perfect.  _Darcy_. Suddenly Phil snapped out of his trance and opened his eyes. Anger built up in him as he thought about Jack touching Darcy, changing her into some beast. He would not let that happen to her. "What did Jack do to Lindsey?" he asked.

Melissa crossed her arms and sat down again. "He never really loved her. He had thought he did once, but not enough to turn her and make her a part of our pack. She didn't really have the qualities that he was looking for in a bond-mate. She never made him feel that sexual desire. Not like your little Darcy makes him feel."

Phil was ready to burst in anger as images of Darcy so helpless and scared while Jack took advantage of her. He had never wanted to kill any living thing more than right now.

"So why is Lindsey sick?"

"He's been poisoning her for a while now," Melissa was growing bored of Phil's nosey questions, so she leaned over him again and started kissing and nipping at his bare chest. "No more questions. Let's just have fun before you turn." Her hands wandered back up him, lightly scraping his flesh with her nails.

Phil groaned, eyes rolling in the back of head, enjoying every bit of her touches.

"Why ... doesn't he just kill her?" he managed to ask as he fought the euphoria building up in him again.

"Because Jack likes to play. Nothing my brother does is ever just easy. He's always got to make a big ordeal out of everything." Melissa said just before she nipped his chest with her teeth.

"Jack's your brother?" Phil groaned as she continued to touch him.

"No. More. Questions!" Melissa growled, looking up at him with seething eyes. She looked out the window and then smiled, turning back to Phil. "I can start the process now, darling. I'm going to scratch you a little bit. It shouldn't hurt much, but your senses will start becoming more acute. I'm going to leave for a moment to prepare myself and when I come back I'll finish the ritual. We'll be bond-mates, Phil. You and I, together forever," she whispered in his ear, then scratched her fingernail against his chest, drawing blood and making him cry out in pain.

"I'm so sorry, darling," she whispered again, looking down at him, watching his blue eyes glaze over. "I promise after this I'll never make you feel that much pain ever again.

I love you Phil." She touched the tip of his nose gently and then smiled, before she slipped out the back door of the cabin.

He could feel changes starting in him almost immediately; His eyesight was sharper; his sense of smell stronger; his hearing more alert; and every time his skin rubbed up against the bed, it felt like little jolts of electricity coursing through his body. With Melissa out of the room, that sense of arousal no longer had a hold on him and he could think clearly again. Phil twisted his hands hoping to loosen the ropes, knowing he probably only had a few minutes at most before Melissa came back into the cabin. If she came back before he had the chance to escape then he may never get another opportunity.

 

* * *

 

With the GPS guiding her to Phil, Darcy felt like a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders. At least now she had a sense of hope in finding where Phil was. She darted through the forest, dodging tree limbs and hurdling over rocks like a track athlete,which was rather funny since Darcy hated any kind of running or jogging. Put Phil Coulson on the end of the finish line and there was no stopping her, she would go through hell and high water for that man. She slowed down just a bit so she could gauge to see how close she was. "He's got to be right around here," she mumbled to herself, looking down at the screen on her phone. Her heart started pounding rapidly again at the thought of Melissa lurking around as well. Darcy had killed one werewolf, killing two was a long shot. Especially since Melissa would have no problem killing Darcy. She ducked behind a tree when she heard a rustling through the trees. Oh, god here we go. She reached into her pocket and pulled her taser out, cranking it up the maximum setting. Darcy might suck with aiming a gun, but she was a pro with a taser,there was little she couldn't target with it. Carefully, she peeked around the corner of the tree just in time to see Melissa walking off into the forest. Darcy held her breath and prayed that Melissa wouldn't come in her direction. She breathed a sigh of relief when she watched her disappear into the fog on the other side of the tree line. A flicker of light caught her eye, which happened to line up with Phil's location on the GPS. "Alright, Phil, here I come. Please don't be a crazy-ass werewolf," she muttered as she crept as quietly as she could towards the light.

Her heart skipped a beat when she found the little cabin nestled in a clump of trees. She was really beginning to hate cabins. Cabins, forests, creepy towns, monsters-she was done with all of them. Darcy crawled along the damp ground over to the window and popped her head up and saw Phil tied up on the bed wiggling around trying to break his bonds; his shirt was pushed up and pants undone. "That bitch," Darcy whispered as she made her way to the front door and pushed it open slightly. "Phil," she whispered as loud as she could.

He turned his head and his eyes went wide. "D-Darce?" he stuttered slightly looking at her as she pushed the door the rest of the way open and rushed in kneeling at his side.

There was a lump forming in her throat, that sort of lump you got when you were about to cry. She swallowed thickly and then mustered up a smile. "I'm going to save you, Agent Coulson." She put her hands on one of the restraints, touching his hand just slightly with hers.

"Ahhh," he breathed out, twitching almost violently.

Darcy stopped and dropped her hand. "Phil, are you hurt?" That's when her eyes saw the scratch marks and droplets of blood on his chest. "What the hell did she do to you?" She reached down and touched his chest lightly, inspecting his injuries.

"Oh ... god that feels so good ..." Phil said breathlessly, his chest heaving up and down; eyelids fluttering.

"Yeah, probably a hell of a lot better than being scratched," Darcy said leaning over him working at the ropes on his hands again. A strand of her hair fell across his face and he sniffed at it.

"You smell amazing."

"Yeah, sure. Gotta love that mix of sweat, fear, and werewolf guts." Darcy scrunched her eyebrows together as she freed one of his hands. His hand was immediately at her back, rubbing little circles on her shoulder blades while she freed his second hand. "Phil, I don't know what you're doing, but now is not the time." Darcy was at his feet, trying to undo the ropes there as quickly as she could, because she knew that any second Melissa could come through that door.

He was sitting up now, arms wrapped around Darcy, face buried in her neck, inhaling deeply at her sweet scent. "You're driving me crazy..." he muttered.

"Okay, normally this sort of thing would really turn me on, but we can't fuck around right now, and I mean fuck in every sense of the word." Why was he acting like this? She wiggled the ropes off his feet. "Can you stand up?"

"Mmm-hmm," he replied drowsily, placing little kisses against her neck. "You taste so good. I could-"

Darcy wiggled out his grasp. "Agent Coulson!" she said sternly, and then slapped him as hard as she could across the face. "Snap the fuck out it!"

Phil looked at her blankly for a couple of moments and then blinked his eyes a couple of times, rubbing his hand over the red sting mark of her slap. "Darcy," he furrowed his brows together and then shook his head slowly. "I'm so sorry," he apologized.

"It's fine. We have to go. I've already alerted S.H.I.E.L.D and their sending a team to extract us. I've taken care of Jack-"

"What did you do to him?" Phil asked, standing up sounding more like himself now and not some horny frat boy. He grabbed his gun off the table next to the bed and took the safety off.

"Sent him through a wood chipper." Darcy took Phil's hand and they started to head for the door. "I see you and Melissa hit it off pretty well. You didn't get a chance to make any puppies with her, did you?" she whispered.

"She started changing me, and now all my senses are screwed up." He sniffed the air a couple of times.

"Awesome sauce," Darcy said peeking out the door. "So what? You could change into a werewolf at any second now?" Just the thought of him changing sent a jolt of fear through her body.

"I don't know-"

"Did you fucking know we were dealing with werewolves?"

"I had a feeling."

"Thanks for telling me," Darcy said sharply, not even bothering with shooting him a glare. "Let's get out of her before the whore-wolf comes back."

"Darcy, I can smell-"

"Going somewhere?" Melissa's voice called from the back door entrance. "Phil, I'm disappointed in you. Really, really disappointed." She tapped her clawed hand against the wooden doorframe, shredding flakes of wood off it.

_Damn it to fucking hell._

Darcy and Phil both turned back around to look at Melissa. She was in a half-human and half-werewolf form. Her eyes red, her skin was starting to sprout tuffs of reddish brown hair, her hands claw-like. Darcy had thought Melissa was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen before, but now seeing her like this she was quite the opposite. "I already killed your brother, Melissa! Don't think I won't do the same to you." Her finger squeezed taser trigger, but she didn't pull it just yet.

"You killed my brother?" she growled, shooting Darcy a glare of pure hatred.

"Your other option is to surrender," Phil said as he pointed his gun at her chest.

Melissa grinned, baring her razor sharp fangs. "Surrender? You actually think I'll do that?" she laughed, then stopped and glared back at the agents. "Drop the gun, Phil," she commanded.

The gun fell from Phil's hand and clattered on the floor, and Darcy couldn't believe her eyes. "You have got to be kidding me!" she said, wide-eyed looking at Phil. Did Melissa have mind control over him or something?

"Now come here." Melissa pointed next to her, and Phil slowly walked over taking his place next to her.

Darcy clenched her jaw tightly and then pulled the trigger of her taser. She watched as it struck Melissa in chest, but she didn't drop to the ground like Darcy expected; she didn't even flinch. Melissa just giggled and ripped the electrode out of her body. "Shit," Darcy said quietly as she watched Melissa start to transform into a full werewolf.

"Now that Jack is gone, there's no use for you, Darcy," Melissa said in a strained voice as she shifted.

"Phil!" Darcy yelled, hoping that he'd snap out of his trance. He just stood there dumbly next to Melissa, who was now a giant monster. Darcy reached down to grab the gun off the floor, but just as she started to come up she was knocked back onto the floor by a jolting force. The wolf pinned her down; its face only several inches from her own. Darcy screeched, placing her hands on the sides of the wolf's head pushing it back away from her. Its mouth was open, dripping saliva and foam all over her, its teeth sharp and ready to rip into her. Darcy screamed as she continued to fight back, she was determined to live. She knew she'd die one day but it would not be by a werewolf devouring her. Hot, rancid breath infiltrated her nostrils as the wolf pushed closer. Darcy's arms were going weak, she didn't know how much longer she could do this.

Three shots rang out in the cabin. There was a painful cry from the wolf and then with a heavy thud it collapsed against Darcy. She lay there frozen, not knowing if the wolf was dead or still alive. "... Ph-Phil?" she said in a shaky, barely audible whisper; her body was being crushed by the weight of the beast.

"Darcy!" Phil's voice was at her side, rolling the werewolf off her. His face was a look of confusion and fear as he took her hand and sat her up. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head no. "I-I think I'm okay," she said as Phil grabbed her arms and began to inspect them for any scratches or bites. He moved to her face, down her neck; hands lightly searching for injuries. "I think I'm going to throw up again ..." she said, her body quivering as she turned her head away from Phil. His hands were pulling her hair back gently as she vomited.

"I'm here for you ..." he whispered, rubbing her back softly. He glanced over at werewolf which now had reverted into the form of a woman. Two bullet holes pierced through the back and one through the head.

"I thought you were under some trance. I thought-" Darcy's voice trailed off as she looked at the body. "Is she ... dead?"

Blood pooled around Melissa's body and Phil nodded. "She's dead. I think once she transformed, she wasn't able to control me any more," he guessed. He gave her a tightlipped smile, and reached for her hands, taking them in his. "I have never been more proud of any agent than I am of you, Agent Lewis."

"Yeah right. I would have died if you hadn't of shot her."

"Darcy, I would have been a werewolf now if it wasn't for you coming to my rescue. And you took down Jack-in a wood chipper! Badass," he grinned, trying to coax a smile from her.

"That was pretty crazy. I still can't believe I did that," she said with the smallest smile. "All I could think about was getting to you." She looked at Phil who had his head cocked slightly up as if he was listening to something.

"S.H.I.E.L.D transport's almost here," he said as he got up and then helped Darcy to her feet.

"I don't hear anything," Darcy said as she strained her ears.

"Enhanced hearing," he said pointing to his ear. He smiled and then leaned in, placing his nose against her neck, inhaling against it. "And, by the way, you still smell really sexy," he whispered.

Darcy had no clue why he was acting so strangely. Him smelling her was hot just as much as it was creepy. It was like he was like he was gaining some sort of feral-like abilities. "So, um, should I be worried about you? Are you going to go wolf on me?" she replied softly as Phil kissed her neck. "You're bleeding ..." she said, looking down at his chest.

He pulled away from her, and sighed. "I'm okay, the scratches don't hurt much. I have no idea what's happening to my body though. Melissa said she needed to do some ritual to complete the process, luckily she never got that far." He rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. "I'm getting goddamn migraine from sensory overload, I think." His eyes darted towards the door and a second later two uniformed S.H.I.E.L.D agents stepped through inside with their guns drawn.

"Agent Coulson, are you alright?" asked one agent as the other one walked around the room and over to Melissa's body.

"We're going to both need medical attention," Phil replied, looking over at Darcy.

"Agent Coulson needs it more than I do," Darcy interjected, watching as Phil rubbed a this temples again Clearly, he wasn't feeling well at all.

The agent near Melissa looked up. "Is there anymore Lycanthropes, sir?"

"No, but get a crew over to the lumber machinery; one of the chippers will need cleaned out." Phil said giving Darcy a tiny wink.

"Transport is hovering over head, sir. You and Agent Lewis can head up there now. Director Fury has issued a new team to take care of things down here. There's an agent with the two civilians back at the lumberyard, they'll be on the second transport and taken to headquarters to be looked over. And don't worry, sir, we'll get your car on board," said the other agent.

Phil nodded. "Thank you. Come with me Agent Lewis," he said gesturing her to step outside with him.

Darcy breathed in a deep breath of fresh air soon as they got outside. "I'm so glad this is done," she said at last. "And Annie and Lindsey are safe. God, I hope they can cure Lindsey. Annie needs her more than anything, especially all the stuff she's been through."

"We have some of the best doctors in the world working for us," Phil said as he walked over to the drop-down ladder that was dangling in front of him. "You think you can climb?" Darcy groaned. "Yeah, I think so. I mean after fighting off two werewolves, climbing is going to be a cakewalk. I really hate heights though," she mumbled as she began to climb.

"I won't let you fall, Darcy."

 

* * *

 

"Welcome back lovebirds!" Clint Barton said to Darcy and Phil soon as they climbed aboard the transport. He was had his arms crossed and a wide grin spread across his face. "So werewolves? Okay, I'm kinda glad I was denied this mission. You guys okay?"

"Clint!" Darcy practically rushed into his arms, giving him the biggest hug she could. He hugged her back and then looked up at Phil and stuck his arm out. "I guess we're okay. For now anyhow," she said looking back at Phil. He was leaning up against the wall with his eyes closed.

"Sorry, I don't mean to move in on your girlfriend. Come here, you! Want in on this group hug?" Clint cringed soon as he had thought about what he said. "Aww shit," he muttered.

Phil opened his eyes and raised his eyebrow, looking at Clint and then to Darcy. "I thought-"

"Sorry," she apologized, giving him a guilty smile. She turned to Clint gave him a warning look. "He won't say anything. Right, Clint?"

"Your secret is safe with me. Cross my heart," Clint said making a little 'x' over his chest.

"Agent Coulson, Agent Lewis," a woman said as she made her way to the back of the transport. Anything that Phil wanted to say to Barton about his and Darcy's relationship would have to wait until they were in private. "Please come with me so we can treat your injuries," she said and then began to walk away.

Phil started to follow her but stopped when he got next to Clint. He sniffed the air, and then narrowed his eyes. "You stink, Barton," he said and then walked away disappearing through the door into the next room.

Clint raised both eyebrows, puzzled. "What was that about?"

"Um, his senses are all messed up. They've become, like, enhanced or something." Darcy shrugged and looked at Clint. "And he might be part werewolf now."

"Are you shitting me?" Clint said completely dumbfounded. "Seriously?"

Darcy turned back to him and raised her arms up in question. "I don't know, Clint. I don't know." She turned back to the door and walked out towards the area of the transport that was the designated medical area. Phil was laying on a cot, shirtless, heal ready had an IV drip and a heart monitor attached to him. He smiled at her when she entered the room. "You get your rabies shot?" Darcy joked, taking a seat on the cot next to him.

He chuckled. "I'm the new pet project. Seems this isn't something they've personally come across yet." He stretched his arms and leaned his head back on the cot, turning it to look at Darcy.

Darcy leaned back and returned his smile, wanting nothing more than to scoot as closely as she could to him and snuggle up. "So what's it feel like?"

"It's hard to explain," he shrugged his shoulders slightly. "I can smell everything in the air. I'm able to pick out each individual scent ... I can smell your pumpkin body wash-"

"I haven't used that in days."

Phil grinned. "Well, I can still smell it on you," he smirked. What he wouldn't tell her was that her natural scent was driving him mad and he was strongly fighting all these strange animalistic urges to fuck her like crazy right here, right now. "My hearing is a mess though, I'm hearing every sound on the transport – from people talking to the slight pings of gears. I think that's the cause of my headache. The only good thing is my eyesight. I don't remember the last time I saw this well. Wouldn't mind if that stuck around," he chuckled quietly.

"But then you wouldn't have to wear those sexy glasses," she whispered, making sure none of the doctors at the computer station didn't over hear her. She grinned, and here turned her smile with a wink. Darcy leaned back and listened to the hum of the engines as the transport flew back the S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters; even though she was happy to be leaving Shady Oaks, she still wondered what was going to happen to the town. Was everyone going to wonder what happened to the Coulsons? What about their house and all the belongings in it? "So what happens to the town? I mean we're just up and leaving. Isn't that going to cause the town to wonder what happened to us?"

Phil nodded. "S.H.I.E.L.D has a protocol for when an emergency extraction happens."

He paused for a moment, thinking of the easiest way to explain it to her. "A secondary team down will go down there later tonight to pack up the house and remove any traces of us ever being in Shady Oaks. They'll use a cloaking device cast over the house so they can do it without drawing any attention to them."

"Okay, so that's kinda cool," Darcy said with a nod. "What about everyone that met us? What's the cover story for our disappearance?"

Phil was silent for a moment. "Come tomorrow morning the entire town won't remember us ever being there."

Darcy was confused. "What do you mean?"

"We'll be supplementing a chemical to the town's water supply that will alter any memories of us being there. Whether they drink the water, take a shower, wash their hands, or whatever. The chemical will be absorbed into their body and they'll forget everything about us, as well as Melissa, Jack, and Bob. To Shady Oaks, they never existed either. Melissa and Bob's bodies will be taken back to the headquarters for our biology team to look over. Annie and Lindsey will be treated by our doctors and then-"

"Their minds will be altered?" she asked, but she knew the answer was yes. A shiver went through Darcy's body. She was learning a lot of creepy things about S.H.I.E.L.D tonight. They were not just a super sneaky government agency as she originally thought. They were their own thing, that did things the way they wanted. They had mind altering drugs, they implanted tracking devices in people with their knowledge, they dealt with things that many people didn't even know existed–Who knew what else. "Um-"

"I know it's a lot to take in Darcy, but we think you're ready. I know you're ready."

"Ready for what?" Darcy asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Directory Fury will be speaking with you in the morning," he said sleepily. Whatever was in his IV drip was starting to take effect now. He gave Darcy a little smile just before he fell asleep, leaving her to wonder what Fury wanted to speak to her about.


	17. The End is the Beginning (part 1)

The flight back to the S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters was only twenty-three minutes, but it felt like it was hours. Doctor Neely looked over Darcy from head to toe, making sure that she hadn't been bitten or scratched by the werewolf. Everything appeared okay except for lots of bruising along her body, other than that she was fine. They ordered her to stay overnight in the med bay observation unit, but she was allowed to get up and walk around if she felt up to it. She had asked several times on Phil's status, but was never given a clear answer. Darcy shifted in the stiff, scratchy sheets of the medical bed, trying to get in a comfortable position; she would try to get some sleep but knew it was going to be near impossible to get her mind off Phil.

"Agent Lewis, if you don't stop fidgeting I'm going to end up jabbing you with the needle. Now please stop!" one of the S.H.I.E.L.D nurses said in a stern voice as she grabbed Darcy's arm to try to draw some blood. Needles were Darcy's least favorite things list (right under going to the gynecologist, which took the number one spot). She hated that sense of feeling pricked, and that strange sensation that came over her when she watched the blood flowing from her arm to the syringe. The nurse gripped her arm tightly and flipped it to the underside. "Agent Lewis, this is ridiculous. My six-year-old granddaughter isn't even this terrified of them."

Darcy squirmed and shifted uncomfortably in her bed. "Can't help it," she said squeezing her eyes shut. Maybe if she didn't look at the blood being drawn it wouldn't be so bad. She felt the needle just touch her arm and she flinched. "Ow!" she yelped and then shimmied back away from the nurse. There was a laugh at the doorway and she looked up to see Clint leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"It's like watching a cat being thrown into a bath," he joked. "Damn, Darcy, I had no idea needles freaked you out."

"Don't laugh!" Darcy squeaked out, glaring at him. The nurse gripped her arm again and then jabbed the needle into her. "Fuck!" Darcy shouted, shooting a look of death to the nurse. Then as quickly as it happened, it was over.

The nurse rolled her eyes at Darcy as she capped up the blood sample and walked out of the room. Clint shook his head and then walked over to Darcy and sat down in the worn chair across from her bed. "So you just survived a werewolf attack and here you are freaking out about a little needle? That's great," he said with a chuckle, propping his feet up on the edge of the bed.

"Har-Har," Darcy rolled her eyes. "You know that nurse could have been a little nicer about the whole thing. Her bedside matter sucks a big one," she said, trying to get comfortable in her bed again.

"How long you gotta stay in here?"

"They said just overnight," Darcy leaned back on the stiff pillow and looked up at the ceiling. "They haven't said a word about Phil. Have you heard anything?"

Clint nodded. "I just asked about him. They said he's undergoing some tests to figure out if any of his DNA has been altered. He's still showing signs of enhanced senses, but he hasn't transformed into a werewolf or anything."

Darcy felt relieved and at the same time disgusted with herself. "I feel like it's all my fault."

"What's your fault?"

"Everything. I fucked this whole mission up. From calling S.H.I.E.L.D to extract us from not getting to Phil on time. Just everything," she crossed her arms and sighed. "Now, S.H.I.E.L.D has to go clean up the mess I left. You know they're going to put some chemical in the town's water supply to alter their minds to forget anything about us being there? How crazy is that?"

Clint shrugged. "I agree it's not the most ethical way, but it's for the best. Darce, listen, you're not the first agent to blow a mission. I've done it, Phil's done it. It happens."

"Now Fury wants to speak with me in the morning and I know he's going to freak out on me. He'll probably demote me or some shit."

"Doubt it," Clint gave her a reassuring smile. "You fuckin' sent a werewolf through a wood chipper. Everyone is talking about it. You're officially the office badass. Plus, you saved Coulson."

"I could have got to him sooner."

"Yeah, or you could have gotten to him later and he'd be a goner." Clint stood up and walked over to Darcy, kissing the top of her head. "You done good, Agent Lewis."

Darcy struggled with a smile. "If you say so." She might have really agreed with him if Phil wasn't god knows where being treated for scratches and weird super-human senses. Of course, there was Annie and Lindsey too. She had asked about them and none of the medical staff would tell her anything about them either. She looked over at Clint. "Did you hear anything about the little girl and her mother that was brought in?"

"Nope. You want me to see if I can find anything out for you?" he asked as he started to walk towards the door.

"No, that's okay. I'll see if I can find something out in the morning," she gave Clint a smile. "Thanks for stopping to see me."

"It's good to have you back, Darcy." Clint said with a wave of his hand before he exited the room.

Darcy tried to snuggle back into her bed except she couldn't get comfortable. Tonight was the first night in a few that Phil wasn't spooned up against her. Just thinking about his arm over her waist and his face resting gently in between her shoulder blades sent a tingle through her body. Letting out another deep sigh, Darcy rolled over onto her stomach, tucked her arm under her pillow, and closed her eyes, hoping to get a couple of hours of sleep.

 

* * *

 

Morning came quicker than she thought. It had felt like she had just fallen asleep when the nurse came in and told her that she was discharged. She headed down to the locker room for a quick shower and a fresh pair of clothes. Her body ached like hell still but at least all her tests came back negative. It was a little after ten in the morning and her meeting with Fury wasn't until eleven, so she still had a few minutes to see if she could find anything out about Phil, Annie, and Lindsey. She entered the medical wing of the headquarters and walked over to the nurses station.

"Can I help you?" the nurse asked, without looking up from the chart in her hand.

"I wanted to check on Agent Coulson."

The nurse looked up. "I'm sorry, his status is classified, Agent Lewis."

Darcy glared. "Can you at least tell me if he's okay?"

"I have orders, agent." Darcy wanted nothing more than to take that chart in her hand and smack her over the head with it. What was the big deal with just answering with a yes, he is okay or no, he is not? "Okay ... What about Annie and Lindsey Martin? Am I able to talk to them?"

"They're in room 319," the nurse said, pointing down the hall.

"Thanks." Darcy walked down the hallway looking at the numbers on the door until she reached 319. She poked her head in and saw Annie sitting up on her bed looking at a book. Lindsey was laying in another bed with an IV hooked up to her. Her eyes were open and she looked a lot better than she did last night. Darcy knocked on the side of the door and smiled when Annie looked up.

"Mrs. Coulson! I mean, Miss Lewis." Annie waved. Darcy's heart skipped when she was called Mrs. Coulson, and then sadness filled her. She'd probably never be called Mrs. Coulson again. It was bad enough that last night she had to turn in her wedding ring and fake ID information. She felt like she was getting divorced from Phil.

"Annie," Darcy smiled as she walked into the room. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," Annie said looking over at her mom and then back to Darcy. "This place you work at is kinda weird."

Darcy laughed. "Yeah, it really is. I'm so glad you're doing okay." She looked over at Lindsey. "How about you?"

Lindsey nodded. "I feel better than I have in weeks." She paused and looked at Darcy for a moment. "So, you aren't a school teacher? And your husband isn't a writer, is he? Annie told me you work for some government organization."

Darcy nodded. She didn't know how much detail about S.H.I.E.L.D she was supposed to go into without getting in deep shit from Director Fury. "We're called S.H.I.E.L.D: Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division. I'm Agent Darcy Lewis."

"And the man you were with? Is he part of this too?" Lindsey asked.

"Darcy nodded slightly. "Yes. His name is Agent Phil Coulson," she paused for just a moment before she quickly added. "I'm sorry we had to lie to you both. We just needed to keep a low profile so we could figure out what was going on in your town."

"Agent Lewis," a nurse said as she walked into the room. "We're going to need to take their vitals. You'll need to step out of the room, please."

Darcy nodded. "Okay." She looked back at Annie and Lindsey. "I happy that you're okay and I'm happy that I've gotten to know you, Annie. You're such a sweet girl, and I just know you're going to do awesome things in your life," Darcy said with a smile.

Annie jumped up from her seat and hugged the brunette agent. "I'll never forget you, Darcy."

She stood there for a moment before she felt comfortable enough to hug the little girl back. Never before had any kid ever liked Darcy enough to give her a hug. She could feel a tear forming in her eye and she swore at herself that she would not cry. She looked at the nurse, who was dumping some pills into a cup. Darcy had a feeling that those were the drug that would make Annie and Lindsey forget anything about S.H.I.E.L.D, her and Phil, and anything to do with werewolves. "I'll never forget you either, Annie." Darcy gave the girl another hug and a wave to her mother and then walked towards the door. She stopped just to take one little glance at them, she smiled softly to herself as Annie walked over to her mother and gave her a hug. Annie was going to forget all about Darcy but at least she'd have her mother healthy again. She sighed softly and then exited the room, making her way down the hall to Directory Fury's office.

 

* * *

 

No one ever liked being called into Fury's office, because he rarely called you in to give you a pat on the back for a job well done. If you were called into his office it was more likely that you fucked up something and were about to get chewed out. Darcy stood outside his office door and looked at her watch, which read 10:58. Her appointment with him was at 11:00 and she wanted to walk in right then. That way he couldn't yell at her for being too early or too late. She watched as agents went along their busy day, passing papers, typing reports, walking around with cups of hot steamy coffee–How she wouldn't love to be doing any of those things right now. She swallowed a lump in her throat and her palms began to sweat when her watched switched over to 10:59. She scolded herself for acting like such a baby. Honestly, what was Fury going to do? It's not like he was going to kill her. A couple of agents passed by her and gave her a smile and nod. People had been doing that all morning and calling her a werewolf slayer. Maybe if she felt like she hadn't screwed the mission up so badly, she'd actually feel pretty good about it. Darcy looked down at her watch again and groaned inwardly. Okay, she was not going to let this get to her.  _Just be your normal snarky-ass self and everything will be a-okay_. She took a deep breath to regain her composure and knocked at the door.

The door clicked and swung open and Darcy walked in. Fury was sitting at his desk, reading over something. He was wearing his standard leather coat and eye patch. If anyone else was wearing that get-up it would make them look like a clown, but it made him look like a fucking badass that you didn't mess with. She still couldn't believe that he and Phil were best friends. "Director–" she started to say, but he held up his finger to silence her without looking up from his work. Darcy bit her lip and sat down in the leather chair across from him, folded her hands and waited patiently for him to finish up.

A minute or two later, he looked up and her and nodded. "Agent Lewis, thank you for coming in," he said in a tone that was steely and cold. He shuffled some papers on his desk and then tipped back in his chair, making it creak. "How are you feeling?"

Did he really want to know how she was feeling or did he want her to say everything was fine? "I'm good. Bruised but good," she replied.

He nodded. "Good to hear." His good eye looked over like it was drilling a hole through her brain to access any information she had stored up there. "I know you haven't tuned in your official report yet, but I just wanted to congratulate you on a job well done."

Darcy blinked a few times without saying anything. He was congratulating her? Okay she did not see that one coming. "...Thanks, Sir."

"Now that being said. You did screw up a few orders, like not waiting for the extraction team to get to you. Agent Lewis, you were told not to move from your location until they arrived."

"Phil could have died!" Darcy interjected.

Fury shifted his eyebrow upward. " _Agent Coulson_ , could have. Yes, and so could have you. I could have lost two agents last night." He stood up and clasped his hands behind him. "However, I am willing to let this one go this time."

Good, she wasn't in as much trouble as she thought. "Thank you, Sir." She started to get up.

"I'm not done yet," he said as he watched her sit back down. "Agent Coulson has been sending me reports on you and your progress as an agent. He has recommended you move up to a Level 3. Now, I'm not so sure about that myself, but I trust Agent Coulson's judgement. So, Agent Lewis welcome to Level 3," he said tossing a new ID to her.

Again Darcy couldn't speak. "Are you serious?" she said at last. She hadn't been a Level 2 all that long. Did she really deserve this? God, she hoped Phil hadn't recommended her because they were fucking each other now. No, Phil wouldn't do something like that. He must have saw something in her that she didn't see. Hell, he saw something in her that Fury didn't see. "Thank you–"

"You'll be assigned to help Dr. Jane Foster while she's here doing some research for us. I'll go into the details with you next week. Don't make me regret my decision, Agent Lewis." He sat down and clasped his hands in front of him on the desk. "I'll need your official report by tomorrow evening. Also, agent, you have a two week counseling session for mission decompression."

Oh, hell no. Darcy Lewis did not do counseling; there was absolutely no way she was going to be laying on a couch going over her feelings and thoughts with some weirdy doctor. "I don't think I need that, Director–"

"You may not, but Agent Coulson thinks you do."

She was going to kill Phil. He knew how much she hated talking to doctors, especially ones whom she didn't consider 'real doctors.' "Fine," she crossed her arms and glared.

Fury didn't look amused. "Go home and get some rest, agent. You can return to work in a few days. Just make sure you get your report over to me by tomorrow evening. When you and Agent Coulson both return to work you'll be debriefed."

Darcy started to get up and then stopped. "Sir, how is Agent Coulson?"

"He's doing better," Fury said studying Darcy's face. She really hoped that she wasn't giving anything away about their relationship. "He was released this morning and is at home resting."

"So he's not a werewolf?" Darcy had never felt so relieved in her entire life.

"He's not a werewolf. His senses are still heightened but are slowly falling back to normal from what I understand."

"Oh thank god." Darcy sighed and then smiled.

Fury was looking at her again with his eyebrow gently arched. "You two became pretty close while on assignment then?"

Fuck, what did he mean by that?

Darcy sat up straight in her chair immediately. "Um–" she started. "He's a great agent and I've learned a lot from him while we were on the mission. I consider him a good friend after getting to spend time with him."

Fury nodded. "He's one of my best agents. That's why I'm glad you disobeyed orders. Just don't do it again, Lewis." Darcy swore that he almost smiled. "You're dismissed."

"Thank you, Sir," Darcy said with a giant grin on her face as she left the room.

 

* * *

 

"You're still alive?" Clint was leaning up against the cubicle wall as Darcy walked back to her desk. She smirked at him and flashed her new ID in front of his face. "Well, well what's this?" he asked, snatching it out of her hand.

"Level 3, baby!" Darcy sat down in her chair and spun around a few times. "You know, I thought he was going to rip me a new one when I walked in there, but he actually congratulated me. He was happy that I didn't follow orders."

"See, it pays to fuck up once in a while." Clint handed her ID back and leaned up against her desk. "I heard Coulson was released this morning."

Darcy nodded as she pinned her new ID on her jacket. "Yeah, that's what Fury said. I'm supposed to go home and get some rest for a couple of days," she said as she gathered some papers and shoved them into her Hello Kitty bag.

"Hey, that's not fair! I never get vacation time after I come back from a vacation."

Darcy dropped her bag and raised her eyebrow. "Okay, I was not on a vacation. I was tracking down werewolves."

"Like for the last two days you were there. The rest of the time you and Coulson spent screwing each other." Clint was teasing, and he could tell that Darcy was getting a bit agitated. "Okay, sorry. I was just–"

"Being a jack ass," Darcy said and then punched him in the leg. He yelped, and she laughed. "You deserved that, Barton. Besides, it's not like I'm going home to anything spectacular. I'm going home to my shitty apartment and working on my shitting mission report."

"Or you could go to Phil's fabulous apartment and spend time with him," Clint suggested, and then waggled his eyebrows.

Why didn't she think of that?

"Um, that's actually a great idea. Except I don't know where he lives and I don't want to text him in case he's sleeping. Maybe I'll–"

"Fulton Place, apartment D17."

Darcy raised her eyebrows. "Seriously? That's like one street over from me. I had no idea we lived so close to each other."

Clint looked at the Ninja Turtle clock that sat on Darcy's desk. "I gotta run. I'm meeting Nat for lunch."

Darcy grinned widely. "Oohh, like a–"

"Nope. Not a date."

Darcy stood up. "You just need to tell her, Clint."

"Maybe sometime, Darce," he said softly, giving her a hug. "Give me a call later."

Clint had it bad for Natasha. Usually he was quite vocal about what he wanted but he couldn't bring himself to tell her how he felt about her. Darcy had tried to give him advice, but he never took it. He had told her that Natasha was one of his best friends and his battle buddy, and he didn't want to risk losing her friendship. Darcy smiled softly at him. "I will."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be the last chapter but it got a bit long so I decided to chop it into two parts :)


	18. The End is the Beginning (part 2)

She didn't exactly go straight over to Phil's apartment after she left work. She went home first and took another shower, making sure she scrubbed up really well. She had always felt like the S.H.I.E.L.D facility showers never got her as clean as she liked. Of course her crappy shower at home wasn't much better, but at least she had all her yummy smelling body washes there to use. Darcy had wanted to make a pot of chicken noodle soup to take over to Phil, but she didn't have any food in the apartment. Instead, she stopped at a Luigi's Deli next to her place and grabbed a container of their soup and a couple of pastrami sandwiches (which she learned was Phil's favorite type of lunch meat). It was a little after six when she parked her car in front of his apartment. Butterflies filled her stomach as she walked up the glass door and looked at the intercom to find his name. Her finger lingered on the button for a moment before she buzzed him, she hoped he'd be happy to her.

She waited a moment before his voice came over the intercom. "Yes?" It sounded unsure, like he didn't get a lot of visitors at his place.

She bit her lip for a moment before she spoke sexily into the intercom. "Hey, baby."

"Darcy?"

"Clint told me where you lived. I had no idea we lived so close to each other. Um ... I brought soup and sandwiches," she said, putting her hand on the door handle waiting for him to buzz her inside. She waited, but the door didn't unlock. "Phil? Can I come up?"

There was silence over the intercom.

"I'm not sure if it's a good idea right now," he said hesitantly.

Okay that was a bit weird. "Oh, I'm sorry. You're probably not up for visitors. I should have called first," Darcy said into the intercom, dropping her hand from the door. "Maybe tomor–"

The door buzzed and unlatched.

Darcy grabbed the handle before it locked again and walked inside and headed over to the elevator. A weird feeling came over her when she stepped inside, and it wasn't one of those good weird feelings. It was one of those I-shouldn't-be-here feelings. She debated turning around to leave as the doors opened up to his floor. I'll just drop the food off and leave. She slowly headed down the hallway with the plastic bag of food swinging at her side, as she read the apartment numbers. When she got to Phil's door, her heart started pounding really hard in her chest. _Darcy, you're being stupid. Just knock_. She raised her hand to gently tap on the door just as it opened up.

"Hey," Phil said quietly, giving her a faint smile. He was dressed in a pair of navy blue track pants and a white v-neck t-shirt. He looked like he just rolled out of bed because his hair was sticking up every which way.

"Were you sleeping?" Darcy asked as she walked into his apartment.

"Laying on the couch watching Stargate," Phil said taking the bag from her hand and placing it on the kitchen countertop. "Thanks for the food." He took a few steps back from Darcy, like he was keeping his distance.

"You're welcome," Darcy forced a smile. "Nice, apartment." She had wondered several times what his place looked like, and her image of it was pretty close to the real thing. It was an open layout out apartment: small kitchen area that faced the living room. Off to the side there were two doors, which probably were the bathroom and bedroom. Small and comfy, and a hell of a lot nicer than her own place. As far as decorations, there wasn't much except for a few pictures hanging on the wall and several mismatched vases and piles of books laying on the end tables. It was like he tried to decorate but wasn't really sure how to go about doing it.

Phil walked over to the couch and sat down then motioning for her to take a seat. "You staying for a while?" he asked.

"Um, do you want me to stay? If you're tired or whatever, I totally understand and I'll leave. I just ... was really worried about you. No one would tell me anything, and–"

"I'm okay, Darcy," he smiled.

She smiled at him back and then took a seat on the chair next to the couch. "Are you all cured?"

He shook his head. "I'm not back to normal yet. It's been decreasing slowly. The doctors said it'll probably take around 72 hours until I'm back to my old self."

"So, you aren't going to have super-senses anymore?" she asked with a teasing smile.

"Thankfully, no," he laughed. "Honestly, I don't think I would be able to handle it if it was permanent."

Darcy smiled but tapped her fingers nervously on the arm of the chair. He was staring at her but not saying anything which made her even more nervous. "So, I had my meeting with Fury today," she said trying to break the awkward silence.

"Oh yeah?" he grinned. "How did that go?"

"He didn't kill me like I thought he was going to."

Darcy, why would you think that?" Phil asked with his eyebrows furrowed a bit.

"Because of how bad I fucked the mission up," Darcy replied, looking down at the chair.

There was a pause. "You didn't fuck the mission up."

Darcy could tell he was smirking. "I felt like I did," she said glancing back up. "I feel horrible that we weren't able to finish the mission like we were supposed to. We were supposed to roll out of town just like we rolled in. Not have S.H.I.E.L.D come in and clean up our mess and then give the entire town some weird-ass drug that wipes out parts of their memories. And it's not cool that Annie and Lindsey are going to have the same thing happen to them. Not cool at all, Phil!" She was getting worked up just thinking about everything.

Phil nodded. "I know, but this is the best way that we can deal with the situation. Annie and Lindsey won't remember anything about Jack, and maybe now they can live their lives normally without the fear they had before."

Darcy sighed. "It's just weird and not right."

"Are you second guessing your job at S.H.I.E.L.D?" he asked honestly.

"No," she shrugged.

"Darcy, I know things we do aren't exactly ethical, but we do them to protect the people from things that they aren't ready to understand yet. If you feel like you don't want to stay in S.H.I.E.L.D, I understand. It's not for everyone."

Darcy nodded slowly and then grinned. "I'm not going anywhere, Coulson!" she laughed. "I may not agree with everything we do, but I'm not going to leave. Not when Fury just bumped me up to a Level 3. He said it was your suggestion. Now, I hope it's because it's because you think I'm a damn good agent and not because you're pounding me into the mattress?" She arched her eyebrow playfully at her boyfriend.

Phil chuckled. "It's because you're a damn good agent, and you're ready for the next level." He paused and then smirked. "Pounding you into the mattress is only an added bonus."

"Does a damn good agent need mission decompression counseling?" Darcy asked, crossing her arms and pursing her lips together tightly. "Fury said that you want me to talk to a psychiatrist. I don't need one. I'm fine, Phil."

He sighed. "I knew you weren't going to pleased with that. Darcy, you went through more on your first mission than some agents go through in their entire career. You may feel fine right now, but later once the adrenaline wears off and you're left with the nightmares, you'll need to know how to cope."

Darcy picked up in the sadness in his voice right away, knowing that he had probably been on that psychiatrist couch more than once. "Do you have nightmares about past missions?" she asked softly.

"All the time." He looked directly into her eyes and nodded. "I care about you so much, Darcy, and I don't want you to ever feel scared."

"As long as I have you, I'll never feel like that."

He wanted to tell her that there would come a day where he wouldn't be able to be there for her, but now was not the time to do it. They both just came off a long, stressful mission and there would be no sense in adding more to it. Instead he nodded his head and gave her a faint smile. "You hungry?" he asked, shifting the conversation.

"Only for your kisses," Darcy smiled. She watched him scoot back further on the couch slightly. "Do I have cooties or something? Just wondering why you're keeping so far away from me."

"I can't get close to you right now," he said, looking down at his lap. He had been fighting to himself off her ever since she stepped foot into his apartment. Her scent was driving him crazy and he didn't even know what touching her skin would do to him. "Once these crazy senses pass I'll make it up to you. I promise," he said softly, looking up to meet her gaze.

Darcy grinned. "So that's it? You think you won't be able to control yourself?"

"Honestly, no, I don't think I'd be able to," he said softly.

"You know I'm okay with that, right?"

"Sweetheart, I can't. I don't trust myself right now."

Darcy stood up and walked slowly over to him with a playful grin on her face. "Well, I completely trust you," she whispered as she sat down on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Kiss me."

Her scent filled his nose and the blood began to pump quickly through his veins. It was an odd sensual feeling, but certainly not an unwelcome one. Her breath tickled his neck and he closed his eyes. "Darcy ..."

"Just kiss me ..."

His throat felt so tight and dry as he fought with himself whether to kiss her or not. Being with her in this state he was in had been all he had been able to think about since they left Shady Oaks. "If I kiss you, I will not be able to stop myself from wanting more. And I just don't mean more kissing." He gently put his hand on her thigh, and looked directly into her eyes. "I'm a weak man when it comes to you, Darcy," he whispered.

Her heartbeat quickened and she leaned close to his ear, her warm breath tickling his ear. She felt him quiver under her and she smiled just before she whispered. "I don't want you to hold back, baby." She pressed a little chaste kiss to his exposed collarbone.

He flinched slightly. "... I don't have–"

She smiled, knowing what he was asking. "I got that covered. I stopped at the store and grabbed a box."

His mouth had gone dry again. "I don't know if I can be gentle ... And you're hurt. I can't–"

"Just bruises. I'm okay, and I'm not scared of you getting a bit ... rough," she said taking her hand and smoothing it through his hair. "I trust you."

He wrapped his arms around her waist. He wet his lips just before he leaned in and pressed his quivering lips against the flesh of her neck. He kept them still for a moment as he inhaled the sweet scent of her skin. "You smell so good," he whispered against her neck before he began to slowly kiss it.

Darcy tipped her head back and closed her eyes as Phil licked a long line down her throat, over her collarbone, and then placed a small nibble on her shoulder. "So, so good," she muttered quietly. His hands found the hem of her shirt and pulled it up slightly so he could slide his hands against her bare stomach. "So good, baby."

His hands continued to travel up her body slowly until they reached the fabric of her bra. She was wearing another thin lacy one again, which made his blood rush in every direction just thinking about what how she looked in it. His fingers lightly tickled over her breasts. He heard her breath catch slightly as his thumb smoothed over her nipples. "Jesus, you're prefect," he mumbled into her hair. Slowly, he lowered his hands from her breasts, resting them gently against her upper thighs. He debated what to do next, which didn't take long once he could smell how aroused she was becoming. His senses picked up on her quickened pulse and her breath becoming uneven. A rush went through his body as he tugged on the zipper of her jeans. She leaned back a bit so he could wiggle them off her until she was left in a pair of leopard print panties. "Did you pick these out for any particular reason?" he chuckled, crooking his finger through the top of them.

Darcy licked her lips. "Thought they were fitting for the situation," she whispered, running the back of her hand down his neck softly. "You like?"

"Oh yes," he replied, running his finger along her dampness. When she arched her back and moaned slightly he knew that he couldn't keep doing this any longer. He needed her so badly right now. "D-Do you want to go into the bedroom?" His voice wavered slightly.

"Fuck yeah," she said through heavy eyelids. He was scooping her up now, carrying her in his arms towards his bedroom. She had been anticipating when they'd get together like this again ever since the last time they'd had sex. Her insides were coming undone already and he had barely touched her. She opened her eyes just as he lightly tossed her on the soft mattress. She chuckled looking up at him as he stripped his shirt off and tossed it to the floor. Her eyes fell on the scratches on his chest, and anger flared up inside her. She could have lost Phil because of that stupid bitch. "Are you sure you're okay?"

He was already at her feet, kissing and licking her toes. "Perfect," he said looking at the purple bruises on her legs. "Sweetie, I can stop ... if it hurts too much." It was going to be a helluva time stopping now if she said no, but he'd force himself to.

"Don't stop," she smirked looking down at his as he trailed kisses over her legs. "I want you to ravage my body, Agent Coulson." She slinked her hand down her t-shirt, grabbed the hem and pulled it up over her breasts exposing her leopard print bra

The sound of her sweet voice and the sight of her breasts caused him to growl loudly in the back of his throat. Heat immediately crept to his cheeks and he couldn't force himself to look up at her. "I-I'm sorry," he apologized, embarrassed by his actions. "Am I scaring you?"

"No, you're not, and that was so fucking hot," Darcy said sitting up, taking her hand and lifting his chin to meet her gaze. "Do it again ..." she whispered.

He sat there for a moment, staring at her lustfully (he couldn't help it). He watched her as she wiggled back down in a comfortable position, pulling her shirt up over her breasts again. He smirked just before he pounced on top of her; his lips at her throat, kissing and sucking her creamy skin. "Just remember you asked for it, sweetheart," he whispered into her ear, followed by another low growl.

 

* * *

 

Darcy woke to the soft warm light that filled the bedroom. She sighed contently, feeling Phil's arms wrapped around her tightly. Last night had been the most amazing night she ever had with a man before, it was even better than the first time she and Phil slept together. She giggled slightly thinking as she thought about their blissful night.

"... Something funny?" Phil's sleepy voice broke the silence in the room. He stirred a bit, shifting in the sheets until he was facing her.

"Morning sexy beast," Darcy said biting her lip playfully. "You sleep well?"

He chuckled. "I haven't really moved yet and I can tell I'm going to be extremely sore today."

"Um, I'd be shocked if you weren't," Darcy said flexing her toes and then let out a little sigh. "I don't think I'm going to be able to walk at all either."

"We might have to stay in–" He stopped, his eyes grew wide at the dark purple and blue bite mark on her shoulder. "Jesus Christ ..."

Darcy turned her head and looked at the bite, smirking. "Feral Phil did it," she said looking back at him. He shook his head, disgusted with himself. "Baby, it's okay–"

"No, it's not, Darcy. I'm so sorry sweetie," he apologized tipping his head back and closing his eyes. "I should have kept my distance like I had planned on. Jesus, I didn't mean to hurt you."

Darcy stroked her hand over his chest. "I hope it leaves a little permanent mark. So I always have a little reminder of the hottest fuck I've ever had," she giggled.

"I hope it doesn't scar," he said brushing his fingertip over the mark. "I never want to hurt you–"

Darcy rolled her eyes and smiled at him playfully. "There is a difference between hurting someone and giving them a love bite."

"It's not like I gave you a hickey, Darce. I actually sunk my teeth into you."

"Well, I liked it."

"I won't do it again." Phil said sitting up in bed. Last night before he fell asleep he told himself that he was going to regret everything he had done and said to Darcy in the morning. Even though his mind was groggy on everything that had happened between them last night, he knew that he probably had done some things that he would have never done if he had been in his right mind.

"Okay, stop being a brooding Phil. I loved last night. In fact, I wish we would have videotaped it because, man, I'd be watching the fuck out of that. It would have been one hell of a sex tape. I hope after your senses return to normal that Feral Phil can make an appearance once in a while," she winked.

He smirked slightly. "Honey, I just don't want to lose you–"

"Let me stop you right there," Darcy said holding her hand up. "You are not going to lose me, Phil. I have never felt this way about anyone before. I mean, I might have already said that to you, but it's true. You make me feel amazing." She tipped her head against his shoulder and sighed. "So much has happened that I haven't been really able to think about how much I'm going to miss our little house in Shady Oaks. Shit, I'm even going to miss Ken and Barbie. But our house ... I loved those nights when we just were sitting around watching TV, cuddled up on the couch," she said quietly as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Phil asked, turning her to face him.

"Ugh, I hate when I get like this," Darcy said quickly as she wiped at the tear. "I feel like ... God, I don't even fucking know ..."

"Shh ..." he whispered, wrapping his arms tightly around her. "Darcy, we can make this work. We can have those cuddle nights right here and they'll be even better than the ones we had in Shady Oaks. I know it's going to be a harder road to travel but, I'm prepared for it," he said softly stroking her hair. "Christ, I never thought that I'd get into another relationship, let alone start one with a beautiful girl that's half my age," he chuckled.

Darcy sighed and melted against his arms. "I want this to work also, Phil."

He kissed the top of her head. "We can do this," he said quietly.

She smiled at him and kissed the tip of his nose. "I did enjoy playing house with you."

"Maybe sometime..." He let his voice trail off.

Darcy raised her eyebrow. "Maybe sometime what?"

He shrugged and then chuckled. "You know, I forgot what I was going to say," he lied. He wanted to tell her that maybe someday they wouldn't have to play house. Maybe someday that they'd have their own house together. Maybe they'd both quit S.H.I.E.L.D and live that perfect fantasy life. They would cuddle on the couch and watch bad movies, eat pancakes in their underwear, make love to each other on the back lawn under a blanket of stars. Maybe they'd even have–Phil shook the fantasies from his head, knowing that it was highly unlikely that anything like that would happen.

"I'm happy you're in my life, Phil Coulson." She tipped her head against his chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

He squeezed his arms around her tighter. "You have no idea how happy you make me, Darcy Lewis," he whispered against her neck as he held her in his arms. Maybe they wouldn't have that picture perfect life, but at least they'd have each other and that was enough for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finished! Yay! I've completed my first long fanfic piece. Hope you all enjoyed it! I just want to thank everyone that left kudos and/or comments, you all really inspired me to keep writing :) I know Coulson and Darcy is not one of the more popular ships but I'm glad there are a few of us out there!
> 
> Now there is a sequel to this story that I will be starting soon, so look for that, if you're interested in seeing where Phil and Darcy's life goes now that they're back at S.H.I.E.L.D.
> 
> And ... is anyone interested in reading the Feral!Phil x Darcy smutty scene that I implied in this chapter? If you're interested in reading it let me know with a comment below. 
> 
> okay that's it for my long rambling!!!
> 
> XXhugsXX
> 
> Their story continues in Few and Far Between :)


	19. What Happens in the Bedroom, Stays in the Bedroom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the missing feral Phil sex scene that was implied in the last chapter. I know many of you were interested in what happened, so I went ahead and wrote it. I was going to do it from Phil's POV but I didn't like the way it turned out. 
> 
> So if you'd like to read it, here it is :)

"D-Do you want to go into the bedroom?" His voice wavered slightly.

"Fuck yeah," she said through heavy eyelids. He was scooping her up now, carrying her in his arms towards his bedroom. She had been anticipating when they'd get together like this again ever since the last time they'd had sex. Her insides were coming undone already and he had barely touched her. She opened her eyes just as he lightly tossed her on the soft mattress. She chuckled looking up at him as he stripped his shirt off and tossed it to the floor. Her eyes fell on the scratches on his chest, and anger flared up inside her. She could have lost Phil because of that stupid bitch. "Are you sure you're okay?"

He was already at her feet, kissing and licking her toes. "Perfect," he said looking at the purple bruises on her legs. "Sweetie, I can stop ... if it hurts too much." It was going to be a helluva time stopping now if she said no, but he'd force himself to.

"Don't stop," she smirked looking down at his as he trailed kisses over her legs. "I want you to ravage my body, Agent Coulson." She slinked her hand down her t-shirt, grabbed the hem and pulled it up over her breasts exposing her leopard print bra

The sound of her sweet voice and the sight of her breasts caused him to growl loudly in the back of his throat. Heat immediately crept to his cheeks and he couldn't force himself to look up at her. "I-I'm sorry," he apologized, embarrassed by his actions. "Am I scaring you?"

"No, you're not, and that was so fucking hot," Darcy said sitting up, taking her hand and lifting his chin to meet her gaze. "Do it again ..." she whispered.

He sat there for a moment, staring at her lustfully (he couldn't help it). He watched her as she wiggled back down in a comfortable position, pulling her shirt up over her breasts again. He smirked just before he pounced on top of her; his lips at her throat, kissing and sucking her creamy skin. "Just remember you asked for it, sweetheart," he whispered into her ear, followed by another low growl.

Darcy shuddered at the sound of him growling in her ear. It’s the most erotic and possessive sound she’s ever heard in her entire life. Right now she wanted nothing more than for him to rip all her clothes off and take her. “Phil,” she moaned, snaking her hands down his back. “Please ...”

He chuckled slightly, still working at throat, alternating soft kisses with rough ones. “No,” he said firmly, nipping at her collarbone. “Not yet.” She whimpered quietly at his answer. He moved her hands over her head and then he slipped her shirt over her body, so that she was just left in her bra and panties.

He stared at her with lust in his eyes and Darcy never felt so vulnerable. They way he was looking at her made her quiver, not with fear but of a deep sexual desire. She watched as he pushed her bra up over her breasts and licked his lips. “Phil,” she just kept saying his name over and over, like, she didn’t know any other words to say.

“Christ, you’re hot,” he whispered, hands wandering over the soft flesh of her breasts, thumbs stroking over her hardened nipples. “Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to not fuck you right now?” He didn’t even sound like himself.

“Just do it. Please ... Fuck, I’m so ready for you ...” she panted, watching as his hands stroked down her breasts and over her flat tummy.

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply through his nose. There was something sweet and musky about her scent tonight. It took him only a minute to figure out she was ovulating. Suddenly, his deepest desire was to get her pregnant, but he wasn't about to tell her that. It would only lead her to freaking out and this whole experience would be ruined (and quite possibly their relationship). “You smell amazing. Incredible.” He began to move down her body, placing little kisses across her tummy until he reached her panties. His fingers tickled around the waistband as he watched her breathing grow ragged. “Do you like this, Darcy?”

She closed her eyes and nodded yes.

“Mmm ... Good,” he said with a little smirk on his face. His hand moved downward from the waistband to in between her thighs. She moaned a little but kept her eyes shut. “Do you like when I touch you here, pussycat?” he whispered, thumb stroke over her center softly.

 _“Ooohh, yes ...”_ she mewled softly, and then let out a short gasp when he rubbed the side of his lightly scruffy face against her thighs. God, she loved his scruff; she loved when he’d just let it go for a few days while they were working undercover. She was going to miss it, knowing that now he was back at S.H.I.E.L.D that he’d opt for the clean shaven look again. Then she felt his warm mouth between her legs, sucking gently against the fabric of her underwear, and she’s completely lost. “Fuck, that’s good ...” she panted, grabbing his head with her hands.

He growled against her as he sucked her through her leopard print panties. He felt like he’s not Phil Coulson anymore, that he's been replaced with some sort of stranger. Whatever animal instincts are in him have completely taken over, and all he can think of is how much he wants, no, needs Darcy. He stopped and looked up at her, her eyes shut and lips slightly parted. “I need you naked. Take your bra off,” he said in a demanding voice.

“Okay,” Darcy said as she arched her back up and wiggled her arms behind her to remove the clasp of her bra. She tossed it over the side of the bed and then wiggled back down onto the pillow. “Want me to take these off too?” She slid her hands over her underwear.

“I’ll take care of that,” he growls as he moved back to her panties, taking them in his teeth and started to drag them slowly off of her. Her back is arched slightly and she lifted her hips off the bed so that he can remove her last stitch of clothing. Phil is doing his best to keep himself under control, but his urges are so strong that he feels like at any moment he’s going to lose the battle. He held her panties in his hand, wanting nothing more to lift them to his nose to smell her intoxicating scent. Would that creep her out? Probably. Instead he tossed them on the bed next to him.

“God, Phil ...” Darcy moaned, wiggling her body against his bed. “I need you,” she whispered, parting her legs just slightly. She was so wet and smelled delicious, but he still fought into giving fully into her just yet. He wanted nothing more to flip her on her back and take her from behind. He wanted to grip her hair tightly to pull her head back so he could sink his teeth into the flesh of her neck. He wanted to cover her in bites and marks to show the world that she belongs to him. He wanted to fuck her so hard that she'd scream his name for everyone to hear.

“Darcy-”

“Phil, do what you want to me. Tonight is your night, baby. I’m giving myself to you,” she said in a rushed breath. “If you want to fuck me crazy-hard, then do it. What do you want to do?”

“Fuck you crazy-hard,” he replied as he started to kiss his way up her legs. She moaned and spread her legs a little more when he reached her thighs. His heart was pounding again, he could feel the blood coursing through his body, his ears picked up every little hitch in her breathing as he moved his mouth closer. She arched her back in anticipation, hands gripping the sheets tightly as he blew a little warm breath against her flesh. Phil’s eyes closed for a moment as he ran the tip of his nose against her soft, wet center.

“Holy fuck,” Darcy moaned, feeling his nose slide against her. Her hands went straight to his head as he put his whole mouth on her: licking, sucking, kissing, and nibbling. She can feel herself start to come undone. “Ohh,” she panted, hands trying to grab his short hair.

“Darcy,” Phil growled her name against her thigh. “You have such a sweet pussy.” The second the words left his mouth, he felt embarrassed. That definitely was not a word he used ever. He started to open his mouth to apologize but Darcy shook her head no, like, she knew he was going to say he was sorry.

She looked at him and bit her lip playfully. “I love when you touch my pussy,” she whispered. She wanted to let him know that she was comfortable with him using that word. After all, Darcy loved dirty talk, especially when it was coming from hottie Agent Coulson’s mouth. “You can have my pussy anytime you want.”

He growled something and grabbed her leg, flipping her quickly, so that she was laying on her stomach. He smacked her ass to get her up onto her knees. He pulled his cock out of boxers soon as she was in position and sunk himself deep inside her.

“Fuck!” Darcy grunted. She had expected him to ease inside her, not shove his way in. It took her a moment to get used to the feeling of him filling her, but when she did it felt wonderful. He was steady with his rhythm-keeping it forceful, but not to the point where it was too fast and uncomfortable. Darcy balanced herself with her forearms and head resting against the mattress as Phil pumped in and out of her. “Oh, shit ...oh, shit ... shit,” she muttered over and over.

“Fuck,” Phil growled as he pushed inside her, keeping his balance by grabbing onto her ass. “Darcy...”

“Phil. Fuck. Condom...”

“Shit,” Phil snarled, remembering that he had forgot to put one on. He pulled out of Darcy quickly, leapt off the bed and quickly raced out of the bedroom into the living room where the box of condoms were. He entered the bedroom a few seconds later, ripping open the condom packet. He pulled his boxers off this time and slipped the condom on. “Grab onto the headboard,” he commanded, slapping Darcy’s ass again.

“Yessir,” Darcy replied as she got up and did as she was told.  With her back to Phil, she gripped the wooden headboard of the bed as tight as she could, prepping herself for when he entered her again. She felt his hands grab her shoulders and then felt him fill her again, slower and smoother than he did before. _“So good ...”_ she muttered, leaning back into him every time he thrust in her.

He started to speed up, his steady rhythm began to slip, but he was determined to keep going as long as he could. Having sex with enhanced senses was the most amazing experience he had ever had. He only wished that Darcy had could experience it just like he was. "Is this good for you?" he asked as he pushed in over and over again.

"A-amazing," she answered, keeping her hands tight on the back of the headboard. She jerked forward and moaned loudly when Phil bucked into harder than he had before. The headboard slammed into the wall creating a little dent in the plaster. If the neighbors were home, they were probably hearing sounds that they had never heard come from this apartment before. "Phil, I ... I'm-" Darcy felt like she was going to come undone at any second. She shrieked loudly when Phil pulled out of her and grabbed her legs, pulling her roughly down the bed. She fell flat on her stomach, but he twisted her so that she flipped over on to her back.

"I want to see your face when I make you come," he growled, grabbing her leg and lifting it over his shoulder. She whimpered when he entered her again, digging her fingernails into his slick back.

"Fuck, that feels good," he growled, bucking into her again and again. He had never used this much dirty language in sex talk before. He wasn't sure if it was because he wasn't in his right frame of mind or if Darcy's foul mouth was rubbing off on him. Either way, it felt good to say some things that he normally wouldn't say.

" ... Phil ...oh, fuck, I'm close," Darcy panted as she scratched her fingernails down his back again. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back.

"Open your eyes," Phil grunted as he thrust into her.

She opened her eyes and looked into his. Normally he had the most incredible blue eyes, but tonight they were so dilated that they looked almost black. Her eyes searched down his chest and watched as the muscles in his arms rippled as he hitched her leg higher, so he could penetrate her deeper. His hips started jerking erratically, and Darcy knew that he was going to come at any second just like she was.

Phil leaned forward and let go of Darcy's leg, letting it fall to the side of him. He groaned when he felt her wrap her legs around his waist so that he could keep thrusting into her deeper. "Close ..." He managed to say as he bucked into her again and again.

Darcy tilted her head back and she moaned loudly as he pushed roughly into her. "So good," she panted as she came. Her hands slid down off of his back and down to the bed as he continued to fuck her.

All the pressure that was building up inside Phil was ready to be released. He missed taking a breath several times and his vision began to white out. When he came, he came more violently than he had ever before. He growled loudly, dipping his head down to Darcy, and sunk his teeth down into her shoulder. He felt her jump and shriek as he bit down on her, he stopped himself before he could draw blood. He wanted to taste her blood for some reason but he couldn't let himself go all the way through with doing it. He rolled off of her onto his back and closed his eyes, trying to settle his body down. "Darcy?" he said a moment later, opening his eyes to look over at her.

"I'm okay," she said trying to gain control of proper breathing again. Her whole body felt like it was made of jelly. She could barely move. "Jesus, ... I've never been fucked that hard in my life," she said, giving him a small grin.

"Too hard?" he asked sleepily, closing his eyes again. He was completely spent and wanted to just curl up to his girlfriend and fall asleep.

Darcy smiled and sat up to grab the blanket at the foot of the bed. She pulled it over them and switched off the light before she rested her head gently against Phil's shoulder. "Let's get some rest, baby," she whispered.

A few moments later and they were both sound asleep in each other's arms.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! If you're interested in how Phil and Darcy's relationship progresses now that they're back at SHIELD, you can read 'Few and Far Between'.
> 
> Thanks for all the lovely comments and kudos you all left on this story!
> 
> -The Scarlet Avenger-


End file.
